Heart of a Child
by Bowtie Lion
Summary: When Tai Lung wakes up, he is startled by a shocking discovery. Not that he's inside some hidden secret world or that he doesn't remember how he got there, or the strange people he meets, it's the fact that he's a four year old cub again.
1. Call me Arc!

My very first fanfic ever. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks does. However, I do own everything in "The Underground" (read and you'll find out what that is).

**Heart of a Child**

Chapter 1: Call me Arc!

* * *

There was no sign of life anywhere he looked, except for the wild plants that inhabited the forest. It had been hours ever since he woke up, surrounded by strange looking, oddly tall, trees. He didn't mind that he'd never seen the specific species of angiosperms before, what did bother him was that everything seemed to be too big. The sky was very cloudy with no sight of blue anywhere. Add that to the fact that he had no idea where on Earth he was. Was he on Earth at all?

Obviously, not knowing where he was going, Tai Lung stopped walking and stared intently at his arms and paws. The muscles that once were his pride were gone, leaving behind a pair that he recognized quickly since he had good memory of his entire past. He reached for his tail and saw that it was also different; it was as he remembered it in his cub hood.

As he tried to convince himself from a preposterous, and outright stupid, conclusion, he noticed that he wasn't wearing any clothing whatsoever. And that is when it finally hit him (hard) of what exactly happened to him. Looking at his naked body he viewed that he no longer possessed the muscles that he worked so hard to obtain, his pectorals were gone along with his abdominals. But what really made him realize the truth was the sizes of his… you know what (it wasn't adult-size anymore).

Yet, he didn't want to believe anything until he got enough proof to convince himself.

"Where the hell am I?" He said to himself aloud.

His eyes instantly widened as he notice that his voice was small and sweet, like it belonged to a child. That was how he sounded when he was merely three, four, five?

There were so many things going through his head. The world seemed spin around him. Then, suddenly he was snapped out of his mind numbing thoughts as he heard something, or rather someone. A shout, like the ones warriors make when they make a strike.

Not minding that he was unclothed, he went running in the direction of sounds of battle that were becoming louder by each step he took.

He came upon some sort of ruins, looking around, the snow leopard also noticed the cause of the sounds from earlier: four large hooded bandits and a lion carrying a sack. Apparently, the quartet of hoodlums wanted the contents of that bag.

Tai Lung decided to stay hidden and see how things played out. Watching as the lion kicked and punched his way around his larger enemies. It was an amazing display of techniques he'd never seen before.

The snow leopard was a little taken back by the appearance of the other feline. The lion's mane was in a spiky style, _he's probably just a punk, _he thought to himself. Tai Lung noticed that the other cat was wearing a bowtie around his neck, an unbuttoned long sleeved shirt, there were buttons on the cuffs, blue trousers made out of what looked like sackcloth, but he was barefooted. And, if he had to guess the age of this unknown cat, he'd say that the lion is just a teenager.

Out of all of the lion's qualities that took the most of snow leopard's attention was the strange fur coloring on the other cat's body. His mane was dark brown and had what seemed to be black stripes on the spikes of hair. Then, there was a marking beneath his left eye, kind of like a black scar. But that was not all, the area beneath his eyebrows were white, which was a quality that Tai Lung shared. Was this a lion at all?

Snapping out of his reverie, Tai Lung noticed that the shrouded enemies pulled out swords and daggers, striking and aiming towards the adolescent cat. But he reacted quickly and dodged every attack with not a single scratch. The same cannot be said about the bandits because for every attempt they made to hurt their enemy, the lion used the opportunity to attack them. One by one the lion's opponents fell on the ground, defeated.

Tai Lung was impresses by the other feline's fighting style, not only did he used kung fu but also did pirouettes to gain momentum.

"Huh? Who's there?" The lion said as he heard someone else. That's when he saw a little, unclothed snow leopard cub in the distance. He ran towards the small child. "Little boy, you shouldn't be walking around alone and _naked,_ especially in a place like this; you'll need protection! Now, where's your mother?" The unknown lion asked him as he took his shirt off and gave it to the child, revealing armor strapped around his arms hidden by the long sleeves.

Tai Lung didn't know what to say, he just stared at the bigger cat who dressed him with his shirt. It was too big for his body size, which led him to ask "How old am I?" He knew that the question sounded stupid, however if he _was_ a small child, then it pretty much didn't matter cause it's something that children tend to do is ask questions even if they make no sense at all.

The lion smiled in an amused way at him and said "Well, to me you look like three years old or four... yeah definitely four."

That answer made it official. Tai Lung, thirty eight years old, was a four year old again. Still, he wanted to see his own reflection in a mirror to make sure.

"Where are your parents? And why were you naked?" The lion asked his smile turned into a concerned frown.

"I, uh… uh…" The snow leopard didn't know how to answer him. Fortunately the other feline beat him to it. "You don't know where they are, do you?" Which was true, Tai Lung knew nothing of his parentage, except for that "treacherous rat" who adopted him.

"Actually I've never met them." He answered with sorrow written all over his face.

"Really?" He sounded surprised and yet sad at the same time. "I never met my parents either." He confessed to the young cub, however, the lion didn't seem to be upset by it, and actually, gave him a smile in return.

The snow leopard was surprised by the fact that maybe there were others in the world that felt the same pain he has endured his entire life.

"Where are we?" Tai Lung finally asked what he'd been wondering for hours.

The seemingly friendly lion stood up and spread his arm in the air and said, "These are the Ruins of Terkhonazya, located in the middle of a forest with no name," he dropped his arms and an annoyed expression entered his face "which is not so far away from a highly populated village."

"A village!" Tai Lung blurted out, relieved at knowing that he was no longer lost. "What's its name?"

"Gibaria" The lion answered.

"Gi-bar-e-ah?" The small cub questioned back looking quite puzzled "Never heard of it before."

Grabbing the sack he protected from the bandits the lion said in an excited tone "Well, in that case let me take you there and get you some clothing."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Tai Lung asked and thought that maybe it was because he was just a child, a lost, unclothed, small child. "I don't even know you?"

"Oh! How rude of me!" He exclaimed scratching the back of his neck. "I'm an archeologist, but _you_ can call me Arc!"

"Arc?" The cub sounded quite confused by the lion's name.

"Yes, Arc! It's short for archeologist." He answered back.

"Your name is Archeologist?" Tai Lung questioned the bigger cat with an expression of disbelief on his face.

"No, it's just Arc, since I never had parents I decided to name myself when I was younger, and what better name than something that has to do with what I love!" The lion said joyfully. "But, enough about me what's your name, little guy?"

Tai Lung hesitated, what would this friendly guy say and how would he react if he found out his true identity. "My name is… Tai."

"Tai, eh? Pleased to meet you!" Arc said then he noticed the bandits returning to consciousness. "We better get out of here, come on."

Both feline spent about an hour walking until they finally exited the forest. Tai Lung saw that there was a village nearby, and to his shock it was a weird looking place. The buildings were high above the ground and seemed to be crooked. Apparently the only way to enter those buildings is using a system of bridges.

Due to the lion's shirt being too big for him, the snow leopard kept tripping on it and falling flat on his face. But he recovered quickly and gathered himself to keep on going.

"Arc?" Tai Lung asked looking up at him.

"Huh? Yeah? What is it?" He looked down asked in a quick fashion.

"What is the deal with that village?"

"Well, _that_ is Gibaria, and if I have to guess on what you mean I have to say that it's about the bridge system, and the height and structure of the buildings." Tai Lung nodded. "The reason for that is that the first inhabitants were monkeys, sure they could have live in the forest we were in but bandits love to hide in trees, bushes, boulders, you know." Tai Lung never heard of such a place, _am I even in China?_ He thought to himself. But he was taken out of his thoughts as the other feline continued telling the history of the village. "It quickly became a very popular location for merchants. Despite it's weird appearance Gibaria is a place where you can find anything, plus I'm meeting someone there," he looked down at the snow leopard and smiled, "she's the one who's going to help us with your clothe problem."

"Was she… the one who dressed you?" He knew he sounded a bit concerned.

"No, I dressed myself." Arc answered quickly.

"Really? Because you did such a good job at it" Said the snow leopard in a sarcastic tone.

The lion just raised an eyebrow at him, and suddenly his expression became one of amusement and excitement. "I got these clothing when I was in France, just so you know these clothing are _all_ the rage in Europe!"

"You traveled all the way to France, wherever that is, for clothes?"

"I'm an archeologist, hello! I travel, explore, discover and raid tombs, and I _do_ like to take souvenirs from places I've visited." Arc answered still smiling at the little one. Then he flexed his arms in a cocky fashion, "Just look at these babies I got at The Lost Titanium Fortress beneath Mongolia."

Tai Lung just stared at him, "Then why are you barefooted?" he said in an accusatory tone.

Arc simply took a big breath and puffed pout his chest, "As an archeologist there may be danger on the road: bandits, pirates, natural disasters and, my biggest enemy of them all," he squinted his eyes and pursed his lips a bit, "booby traps."

_Oh shit, I'm being helped by someone who's just as crazy as Oogway!_ Tai Lung thought to himself.

While Tai Lung was second guessing his choice for a helper, Arc continued explaining, "I don't wear sandals because I won't be able to feel the vibrations on the ground as strongly as I can right now. That way I can evade and make sure I don't trigger booby traps."

At the same time the snow leopard kept thinking why was some stranger helping him, and then it hit him: he was being helped because Arc didn't knew who he really was. Tai Lung is supposed to be a massive, muscular man not an adorable, helpless cub.

If Arc discovered the truth he would abandon and turn him away just like everyone else he used to love and trust.

"Something on your mind, Snow Cub?" Arc suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Snow Cub?" He said looking at the lion with an annoyed expression and tone giving him a cold stare.

"It's just a nickname." Arc said in a reassuring tone.

"My name is Tai Lu… Tai!" He snapped almost revealing his secret

Arc's ears flattened against his head and gave a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, I know how children don't like to be treated like babies."

Tai Lung was concerned by what the other cat said, he let something like being treated like a baby get to his nerves really easy. Was he becoming a child on the inside? Then again, he'd never appreciated being treated that way before, not when he was a teenager, especially during and after Chor-Gom. So he can't exactly tell the difference.

The snow leopards curiosity snapped him out of his reverie as he saw the lion pull a shiny shield out of the sack that he protected with his life. "What is that?"

"This? Oh, it's something I found in the ruins we were earlier at, here take a look!" Arc held out the shield to the smaller cat. However, as soon as Tai Lung saw his reflection on it, he fell back on his rump. "You okay?" Arc replied.

He quickly gathered himself and stood up, taking another look at his reflection once again, he was finally convinced. Looking at the big eyes, chubby cheeks and at his entire body, he truly was a four year old boy again. Tai Lung moved around to see if the reflection did the same movements and that all of this really was just a dream.

But it wasn't.

He also noticed how ridiculous he looked wearing the long shirt, but he didn't mind.

However, his nightmarish thoughts were interrupted by his friendly companion, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen your own reflection before?"

He was wondering if the archeologist was talking down to him because he was a little cub or that was just the way he is, Tai Lung couldn't tell.

Trying to start a conversation with a different topic, one that the snow leopard liked and could benefit from, "So, where did you learn to fight like that? You know, against the hooded bandits."

"That's because I've discovered in lost temples different styles of martial arts, whether they were written on the walls, rocks, floor, ceiling and, of course, scrolls. Each of those forms were presumed lost and forgotten. Luckily," he raised his voiced and his face became one of pure amusement, "I found and kept each and every scroll I happened to see lying around!"

That's how he learned how to fight; he was probably the only person in the world that knew those techniques. Tai Lung thought that maybe he could ask the lion to teach him those forms and styles that were hidden from the world.

At last, they both reached the entrance gate of Gibaria, while Tai Lung watched in amazement the system of bridges that provided as a way for every inhabitant and tourist to reach any destination in there. Some bridges were wider than others, probably because more commotion happened on them; there were also smaller bridges that connected the big ones to others and buildings.

There was a guard at the gate but he let the two cats pass, "Nice to see you again Arc," the bull greeted the lion, "I see you finally found out about the ruins in the forest!" he couldn't keep his laughter inside.

"Ha, ha, very funny!" Arc replied in a sarcastic tone.

Once they entered the village everything looked far more complicated up close. The bridge system was outstanding: there were bridges everywhere: to their sides, above them, both of them were walking on one to begin with.

Tai Lung couldn't believe his eyes, he never knew that there could be such a place. It was sturdy and there were nets of ropes along the sides of every bridge, just in case if someone trips the lucky individual would be safe from major injuries.

"Hello, Arc!" both of them stopped on their tracks as they heard a female voice to their left, Tai Lung didn't recognize who this woman was, of course, but the archeologist did, in fact he greeted her back, "Zoi, nice to see you again!"

The snow leopard stared at the tall female raccoon, about four feet tall (that's big for a raccoon) that was in front of them. She seem to be a well mannered sweet person, and she didn't just look descent, she looked like she was a very classy lady. Tai Lung confirmed this by staring at her clothing (or rather uniform): a dark blue necktie, a red jacket of fine silk, white vest beneath it, a short red skirt (to match the top) and the strangest shoes he'd seen in his entire life, they covered her toes, like a boot, but the heels were lifted by a spike. _Maybe it's used for combat, to stab opponents with it? _She was also carrying a heavy messenger's bag filled with scrolls, parchments and maps.

With a huge question mark on his face, Tai Lung broke his silence, "Uh, hi."

"Oh, _Hajimemashite Yoroshiku_, are you friends with Arc?" She said looking down and finally noticing the small cub wearing a shirt too big for him.

But the lion answered for him, "You bet, he and I met about an hour ago, and I can tell we're going to be friends for life, I'm taking him to see Tia to get him some new clothing."

Tai Lung just stared at the other feline next to him. No one in this world is that caring? He could be wrong.

The teenage lion continued interrupting his thoughts, "He's name is Tai, I found him walking around, naked in the nearby forest."

"Oh, you finally went to the Ruins of Terkhonazya?" She said with a grin on her face.

"You knew that the ruins were there too?" He snapped with eyes wide with an incredulous tone.

"You never asked me if I knew where they are." She said giving an innocent look.

"Don't worry" He sighed with a defeated tone and look, but just like that his expression and tone changed to one of excitement, "I went early today to the ruins and found this." He showed her the shield hidden in the bag.

"So I'm guessing you're going to trade that for some money." She assumed.

"It pretty much depends on how much it's worth: if it's a low amount I'll keep it, if it's a high number I'll sell it, _but_ if it is an extremely high number I'll keep it. You know I like rare artifacts."

Tai Lung was just staring at the two mammals, his eye twitching, looking at them incredulously, _do I even need to be here?_ He cleared his throat to get their attention.

Arc got the cue and presented the raccoon to the cub, "Ooh, sorry, this pretty lady right here is none other than Zoi Zenigata. She's a reporter and it's because of her that the people have been well informed over the last ten years."

The raccoon stretched her arm towards the snow leopard cub and shook his hand and greeted him. "Hi cutie, do you know where your parents are?"

Tai Lung didn't lie but he also didn't told the entire truth, "My father abandoned me." He said with such a harsh tone and an expression of pure anger and sadness but avoided to meet their gazes.

Arc and Zoi looked at the cub who was fighting sobs and a lump in his throat, their expressions were of both sadness and sympathy.

"All ever did was try to make him happy, but he never appreciated what I did for him, and so he punished by leaving me all alone with no else but myself" Tai Lung said, still fighting back a sob.

The kind lion rested his paw on the cubs shoulder, looking at him with a reassuring smile that said 'you're not alone anymore'. "Come on, let's go see Tia, she'll make you new garments."

"Who's she?" The snow leopard asked, still not knowing anything of this Tia person.

Zoi cut the lion before he could answer, "Tia Ra, she is a fashion designer, she used to walk the runways when she was a high fashion model, and now that she is retired from modeling she travels the world for inspiration for her new clothing lines and collections. I just interviewed her just couple of minutes ago for the fashion spread. She told me that she was going to Frankie's for a bite."

"That's good, we could all have something to eat," Arc turned to Tai Lung and continued, "You'll love Frankie _and_ her cooking."

Somehow he believed that he would since the people he has already met were really nice.

They continued their journey for the so called Tia, along with Zoi, apparently she thought there could be a front page behind this. Arc seemed to be happy about everything, which is kind of creepy, _Oogway_ creepy. At least he didn't come up with wise sayings and metaphors. However, he never thought that someone would ever give him kindness and compassion in return for nothing.

A couple of blocks later, Tai Lung tripped on the long shirt sleeves many time, they came upon a large building that attracted a lot of people. There was a line that stretched all the way around the corner.

"We're here!" Arc exclaimed, "Frankie French Fry's restaurant sure is full, but I bet if we are patient a table will clear out in a couple of hours, just you…"

He was cut off by Zoi, "I made a reservation yesterday, so there's no need to wait at all."

Tai Lung let out a sigh of relief, "Good because there's no bloody way in hell I'm waiting in line, specially one as long as this one."

"_Language!_" She pointed a finger at him and gave him the look that all mothers were able to do that meant a warning to children.

They walked to the reception counter, and thanks to Zoi's convenient reservation, they were escorted to a table.

Seated, the three of them waited for their menus to arrive. Zoi grabbed a napkin and placed it gently on her lap, while Arc decided to get to know the snow leopard better, "So, where are you from, do you even remember?"

He was flabbergasted by the question but he answered it truly, "I'm from the Valley of Peace."

Zoi and Arc just stared at him with expressions of astonishment and confusion.

"So you aren't from here." The lion deduced.

"Well yeah, I've never heard of this village before."

"That's not what I meant. You're not from _The Underground_, are you?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"The under what?" Tai Lung was confused. He woke as four year old, naked, in the middle of a forest, been to places he never knew existed, met strangers that can be described by anything but normal, _what's next a scarecrow, a tin man and… well I already met a lion,_ "You mean we're not in China?"

"No," Arc answered then he put his hands in the air, like he did before, "This is The Underground!"

* * *

A/N: Well, this is the beginning of the story (duh!), so I hope you like it so far. If you're wondering where the Ruins of Terkhonazya, Gibaria or The Lost Titanium Fortress are located then don't bother, they are not real, those are places I made up. They are part of The Underground, which will be explained in the next chapter. _Hajimemashite Yoroshiku _means 'hello and pleased to meet you' and Domo also means hello but to a person that you know well and/or have a personal relationship with.

Please review, I'm going to need as much help as possible.


	2. Dinner at Frankie's

Thanks for the reviews. In this chapter you'll meet new OCs and learn more of The Underground.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, but I own everything in The Underground.

Chapter 2: Dinner at Frankie's

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"The Underground?"

"Yes, it's a world beneath the world."

"Is this a joke? Because I despise jokes"

"No, but assuming that you don't know how you got to The Underground I'll let you know all that's important down here." Arc said trying to calm the small cub.

'_Down here', did I die and now I'm in hell… It's a lot better than what I thought it would be, _Tai Lung thought to himself.

Arc interrupted his thoughts by standing on his seat and putting a foot on the table then leaning forward towards the snow leopard, "The Underground is a secret world, miles beneath the surface. To get in you need to find a specific entrance, no one knows exactly how many are there, but the ones that are well known are all guarded by 'undergrounders' and it is their job to guard them. If anyone wishes to leave and, or, comeback, that person will need a seal of permission to be let through. However, no one can speak of The Underground to anyone from the outside."

"What happens in The Underground stays in The Underground." Zoi added.

"What's so special about this place besides its strange locations?" Tai asked

Arc gave him a smug look, "What you've seen so far is nothing compared to the things that are yet to be discovered." Then he jumped on the table and raised his voice in an excited way, "Plus, think of all the adventures you and I will have: fighting bandits, searching for lost ruins, fighting pirates, visiting new places, fighting ninjas, finding artifacts, fighting Mongols, learning new styles and fighting techniques, ooh, did I mention there's a lot of fighting involved, cause we…"

He was cut off by a waiter, "Hey you get down from there!"

Arc quickly got down and took his seat, "Sorry", he said with an apologetic smile.

Tai Lung didn't move a facial muscle but he felt a bit excited by Arc's speech. He could start a new life here with a clean slate. He already liked the people that he met and they all could help him find a purpose in life.

Zoi continued Arc's explanation, "There are other things than Archeology, you can find things that can only be found here, for example," she was making gestures with her hands throughout and then she held her index finger straight to the sky (ceiling), "the technology down here is more advanced than on the surface and there are some people here who are able to concoct Body Enhancement and Healing potions, they are not really potions by the way, they are more like energy drinks."

"So far, no one's been able to make a Sex Change potion." Arc said to the snow leopard.

"Why are you telling me that?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

Zoi interrupted with an authoritative tone, "I don't think that topic is appropriate for a small child, _Arc_."

"Hey, sooner or later he'll learn all about that stuff, so why not sooner." Arc explained to the raccoon.

"Until he reaches the proper age, please, do not talk about that in front of him." She ordered the lion pointing a finger at him.

"So… I shouldn't talk about sex changes or sex?" He asked in an innocent way with a puzzled expression.

Zoi stood up, leaned a bit toward Arc, stretched her arms away from each other, raised her voice and made a scene, "Stop it, my Gods, it's too late to do anything now, his innocent little mind must be fogged by dirty images. Tai…" she looked at the cub in the eyes, "I'm sorry for Arc's bad influence!"

All that Tai Lung could do was stare back at the hysterical woman, feeling a bit afraid, _she's crazier than Oogway!_

He needed to put an end to what was happening, "I already know all about that stuff, my father had 'the talk' with me, and he also told me about people who aren't comfortable enough with their bodies that they… just, please, _stop!_"

Clearly, Tai Lung never felt more awkwardness before in his life. He could practically feel it.

Zoi wanted to ask 'What kind of father would teach a small child to know that anything like that?' but she just stayed quiet deep in her thoughts. She was a reporter, an investigator, if there were questions, she gets the answers as fast as possible since every mystery, or rumor leads, to a possible front page.

Arc broke her from her reverie, with an innocent tone, "So, does that mean it's okay for me to say: sex, stroke, lubrication, three wa-"

"Stop! Just shut the fuck up!" This came from Tai Lung. He yelled so loud that everyone in the restaurant was staring at them, which made him want to sink into a hole out of embarrassment.

"Language" Zoi snapped again.

_What the hell did I got myself in to? These two are even worse than a bunch Oogways! I hope this Tia isn't as deranged as them._ Trying very hard to block out what just happened with eyes twitching so fast they looked like they could explode at any moment, suddenly, someone spoke up from behind him.

"What a coincidence finding you two here." Tai Lung looked at the direction of the voice and was surprised by the appearance of the lioness. She was breathtakingly beautiful: tall, sexy curves, gorgeous cheekbones, her bust had a nice size and she had piercing green eyes that felt like they could penetrate right through him. To top it all off, she was wearing a long, red cheongsam which made her stand out. Mostly because the dress revealed her cleavage. She was wearing sandals that had the same spike on Zoi's shoes, and had a strap that wrapped around her ankles (which were beautiful by the way).

"Tia!" This came from Arc, "Am I glad to _find_ you?" Even though, she's the one who found them.

"Oh, is that so?" She said, her voice with a purr that made Tai Lung just stare at her in amazement, she was that beautiful.

The teenage lion interrupted his daydreaming, "Yeah, this little guy hear needs clothing, I found him naked in the nearby forest."

She took a seat next to the snow leopard cub still wearing the big shirt.

"Aww, hi there, what's your name?" She said seating next to him, and he could have sworn his heart rate and body heat were rising, along with a small blush on his face.

"M-my, name is T-Tai." The cub answered her feeling rather embarrassed by the way he said it.

"I like to please my customers, so what exactly do you want to wear?"

"Uh, pants would be good!" He answered her.

"Alright" Tia chuckled, "How about indigo pants? I think the color suits you."

Tai Lung's eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth. If he wore the same color as he used to, people could recognize him. "I don't like that color. How about green?"

"You would wear green in public?" she raised an eye brow but then waved it off, "That's okay, I'll make the pants, choose the color, and surprise you with them." She reassured him.

"I also do _not_ like: pink and anything that resembles 'girlyness'." If she was going to surprise him than at least he was going to make sure that it wasn't something embarrassing.

"Wouldn't dream of making clothing that are unpleasant for a client. Besides, pink is _so_ last season."

"That reminds me I don't have any money" He said with a sheepish grin.

"I'm not doing this for money," she reassured him, "you're _naked_ for goodness sake!"

Tai Lung thought that the only reason why she was just generous was because he was a child. This beautiful woman would just turn him away and reject him if he was an adult. Even though he doesn't want her to find out who he is, deep down he does, what he felt in his heart was something he never felt before, except maybe when he first laid eyes on the tiger he fought at the Thread of Hope. He has a crush on the lioness, and maybe if he shows her the real him there could be a chance for him to…"

His thoughts were interrupted by Zoi, "So, how is your husband?"

_What? She's married? No!_ His mind flooded with the harsh realization that the sexy cat, seating next to him, was married. Of course, she's not single, you don't see someone as hot as her without having a bunch of men on her trail or if she is already taken. _Damn!_

Snapping himself out of his depressive thoughts, he realized something else: he was still a four year old, how was he supposed to win a grown woman's affections if he was just a child, how was he going to change back if he wanted to, will he have to wait to grow up again?

"My husband's fine, he's taking care of the kids while I'm gone." Tia answered the question.

At that moment a waiter arrived with their menus.

Arc was bouncing on his seat with excitement looking at the specials of the day, "Tai, look at this," he said pointing at his menu, "there's a kid's menu here!"

The snow leopard felt like pouncing on the lion and batter him within an inch of his life for treating him like a child. But then he remembered that he is a child, so he had to suck it up.

"Splendid! That means that you should be able to clean your plate." Said Zoi to the small cub who was starting to get annoyed to the point of no return.

"Oh, come on, let him choose" This came from Tia

"Thank you!" Tai Lung responded in an over the top fashion.

Arc just hid his face behind the menu and chuckled and Zoi simply just gave in but tried once again to convince him, "Alright, but just so you know the kid meals come with a toy."

"I'm serious, let him choose, it's healthy for children to make their own decisions." Tia defended him again.

With that Zoi knew she had been beaten, "Alright, you can eat whatever you please."

Arc just continued scanning the menu until he noticed something that stood out to him, "Hey look, you can choose what exactly you want on your pasta, and when I say anything I mean anything. So, I want a bowl of pasta penne with sardines, chocolate chips, apple slices, strawberries, a lot of whipped cream, whatever the hell this thing is," he then pointed at a picture on the menu of some sort of fruit, "and don't forget the cherry on top."

"Arc you have the eating habits of a pregnant woman." Tia teased the other lion with an amused tone and expression.

"What? If you put whipped cream on something, it becomes edible." Arc explained.

Tai Lung smiled, quite amused by his new friends awkwardness. The lion's food choices may be strange but he didn't seem to mind one bit. It was exactly how Tai Lung treated food. It is suppose to fill your hunger nothing more. That and that it was still better than the crap he ate in Chorh-Gom.

"I'll have the same he's having." The snow leopard told everyone.

"Suit yourself!" Zoi said in a musical fashion.

They spent minutes waiting to receive service; every waiter in the building were all occupied by the big amount of customers.

Tai Lung watched his surroundings, not just the appearance of the restaurant, which was very warm and pleasant, but the people in there, most of them were animals he had never seen before, in fact, he didn't even knew existed.

He turned back to see his new companions and saw that Tia was drawing sketches of the same dress on a piece of parchment using a stick of what appeared to be coal, Zoi was interviewing a person on the table next to theirs and Arc was grabbing utensils and placing them on top of each other right on his nose, the wobbling tower seemed that it was going to fall at any moment, specially when the lion added something else to it. Tai Lung just watched the show as a single chopstick held everything up: a plate, then a sideways cup, a spoon standing vertically, a teapot, the other chopstick and the teapot lid.

But, Arc noticed that Tai was staring at him, so he quickly turned his head to the snow leopard's direction, making the tower of utensils fall and crash on the floor, which was noisy, "So what other things do you want to know about The Underground, besides that every direction leads to an amazing location… or a pub!" He couldn't keep his excitement down.

"I don't know, you tell me"

"Alright, I'm going to tell a bit more about the- ooh, look our waiter's here!" He said pointing in the direction where the waiter stood.

They ordered and continued explaining this new world to the cub.

"As I was saying," Arc continued explaining what he started, "I'm going to tell you a bit more about the things you can find here and not on the surface above. Well, for starters, we have a system of transportation called railroads, we use a huge machine, called locomotive, some call it train, to take people to the specific location they wish to reach and they're _there_ without having to walk all the way. I would rather walk cause I like it, besides not all of the railroad system leads to everywhere, some places you have to reach by yourself."

As the leopard digested everything the archeologist told him, he couldn't keep the amazement from his facial features, there's a machine that can take you almost anywhere you want, he wanted to ride it one day.

"I should have known all the noise I heard must have been you, Arc!" Suddenly, another unfamiliar voice caught their attention. Tai Lung turned his head and noticed who it was.

She was a tall, thin, curvy, white rabbit, wearing some foreign white dress (though it looked good on her); she was wearing regular shoes, sandals, and not those spike-heel things.

The rabbit glanced at Tia and she turned like if she was protecting her body from the cat's eyes.

"Wow," this came from Zoi, "Frankie, what are you wearing, who is the designer, have you come up with any new recipes for your menu, are you dating anyone, why did you open another restaurant here in Gibaria, is it true that you beat up someone for no appearing reason and why aren't you in the kitchen making our meals?"

She asked in such a quick manner that Tai Lung was surprised by two things: she wasn't panting to get her breathing under control and that she would ask such questions at all.

The rabbit just smiled in a knowing way and answered the questions, "Italian couture, some… gay Italian guy whose name I can't even pronounce, you damn right I did, no, I felt like opening one inside this city-like village, I would never harm someone for no reason whatsoever, and I got many complaints from customers, they were saying people on this table were being too rowdy, so I came here to check and it turns out it was you guys."

As Zoi and the rabbit, Frankie, obviously, shared a laugh together, Tai Lung decided to start a conversation, "Frankie, I presume." He said with his usual smug tone, like when he fought the Furious Five.

"That's Frankie French Fry to you." She said pointing a finger at him.

"Is that really your name or do you just have a thing for alliterations." The leopard mocked but the rabbit just saw it as a child's way to get attention.

"For your information, my real name is _Frankine __Françoise__ Fortier, _so as you can see it's an alliteration as well."

"Can't I just call you Frankie?" He said with an annoyed tone while rolling his eyes.

"Sure, everyone calls me that anyway; apparently, people have become so lazy that they rather shorten someone's name than saying the whole thing." She answered with annoyance.

Before Tai Lung could retort to that, he was interrupted by Tia, "So, you really don't know whose gown that is or are they really just knock offs?" She said with fake innocence that was meant to be noticed.

Frankie just looked apologetically at her, "I'm sorry, I just saw this dress and I needed to have it."

"I could have made you an even better dress than _that!_" She snapped pointing at the rabbit's dress. "_She_ made it for you, didn't she?"

There was a pause, the rabbit just stared at Tia wide-eyed, biting her lips, there were a few sweat drops sliding down the side of her face, until she was defeated by the lioness' fierce stare, "Alright, yes, I admit it, _she_ told me that if I wore this for the opening of my next restaurant, I would be able to keep it." She then gave an apologetic smile.

"It was _Agosta_, wasn't it? Not some Italian guy!" Said Tia with anger entering her voice.

"Yes" Frankie squeaked sheepishly.

"I knew it! That bitch, first she steals my designs and now my friends."

Then Zoi interjected, completely ignoring Tia's bad language, "Catfight on the Catwalk; this will make the best front page ever. Two feuding designers, one accusing the other of high-fashion robbery, the other giving no comment. What is _she_ hiding?"

The leopard stared at the women, feeling that it would be dangerous to interrupt them, he then turned to Arc, "How about until they pipe down you tell me more of this place?"

"Okay! What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with, where are the entrances or exits to The Underground?"

The lion pulled the leopard cub towards him, placing the little guy on his lap.

Tai Lung gave him a flat look, with a hint of annoyed.

Arc ignored the snow leopard and grabbed him from the side f his head pulled him in as he leaned a bit to be in the same level as the smaller cat, "There are many of those, in fact, there's one about two miles from here. It leads straight to Beijing."

The leopard taking in the information continued asking away, "And, what exactly _is_ The Underground, besides a world beneath the world?"

"Some say is a place to escape from your worries or a new place to hangout but the majority says that it's a place for rebirth, a place for people to start a new life, to start from scratch."

Tai stricken a bit by his answer decided to ask a different question, "What about those potions that Zoi mentioned earlier?"

"You want to know more about the Sex Change potions, don't you?" Arc said with an all-knowing look.

"_No!_ Not that one, the other two."

"Body Enhancement and Healing potions?" Arc said to confirm.

"Yes, what exactly do they do, what makes them so special?"

"For starters, there are more types of potions but those are the most common. The fun ones are rarer than those two but since you ask: Body Enhancement potions help with body functions and processes a lot faster than any other way possible, and Healing potions are able to regenerate body parts and, of course, seal wounds close, but for the really big, nasty looking wounds. I've seen what happens when you drink one for no reason, no wounds, no body issues, nothing."

"What happens if you do?" There was a tinge of fear in the snow leopards curiosity.

"There once was this anorexic girl who wanted be so thin that she took a Body Enhancement potion, one that makes you lose weight and fast, she drank it, and in mere seconds she imploded." The lion finished by squeezing his paws together. "There was nothing left of her."

This announcement made Tai Lung gulp. Arc just kept a grim expression, while the snow leopard contemplated what to ask next, after what he just heard he wanted to know all he could in order not to make mistakes like that.

Then, all of a sudden, Arc became an explosion of excitement, "Let me tell you about the time I used a potion to prank this guy. He drank the whole thing and ended up vomiting carrots along with some purple goo."

"Excuse me, do you mind? I'm trying to eat here!" This came from a dog eating at the table next to them.

"But you're a dog!" Arc said guilelessly.

"So?"

"You _love_ to eat throw up!"

There was a pause and then the dog answered, "Yeah, you're right" And with that he turned back to his table.

Arc turned around as well to continue his conversation with the small cub but Tai Lung just stared awkwardly at the lion. Like you wouldn't do the same after that exchange of words!

Both of them turned their heads in the direction of the ladies as they heard Zoi, "This is gold. So, Agosta Moretti steals your designs, cuts something off of them and sells them as her own?" She was writing everything being said on a piece of paper she had, must have been from her bag.

"That bitch has been doing that ever since I became a fashion designer, and I can't believe you, Frankie, would wear one of her garments. And by garments I mean a bad knock off of my creation!" Tia said this last part at the rabbit.

"Tia, you know I cannot resist short wedding gowns!" Frankie defended herself.

"Wedding gown?" Tai Lung asked looking at the rabbit's dress. It's not like the wedding gowns he's heard of, it was white and short, and it revealed Frankie's legs all the way near her thighs.

Zoi explained to the snow leopard about the chef's fascination with wedding dresses and that it was the only thing she wares. That and that it was also all the rage in Europe.

Tia Ra calmed down a bit and told him about her rivalry with some other designer.

Tai Lung realized that when Frankie answered Zoi's question about who designed the dress was a lie, something to obviously throw the lioness off the scent. But, Tia has a keen eye for clothes apparently, specially her own creations.

* * *

The rest of the evening went by normally, well as normal as it can be. Other than the fact that Arc ate his meal in one bite, then puked it out whole, and then ate it again, it was a nice evening.

Tai Lung learned more about the interesting people he met that same day. Such as: Frankie being the owner of many restaurants all over Europe, Russia, India, Japan, China and even in The Underground. Unfortunately, Tia is a married woman and has eighteen kids, that's right _eighteen_. Zoi is single but she did mention something about her son making improvements. Whatever she meant by that.

He also learned more fascinating facts about the new world that always existed beneath his feet. Arc answered a very obvious question the snow leopard asked: "How come there are clouds and sunlight down here?" That was a good question but the lion answered him like if it was common sense, the reason for The Underground's sky is the same as in the surface, the lion started talking about how the water evaporates by the heat making the steam rise to the sky that forms the clouds. He also mentioned that there were oceans down there. As for the sunlight, the cause of that turns out to be _dinoflagellates_ that are sticking on the ceiling of The Underground. Although, the clouds cover the whole ceiling, the uncountable protists are able to emit such a powerful light that it can be just like in the surface.

Maybe too sciency for his taste but Tai Lung was fascinated by this new world, a new place to start a new life, where he can forget about the past, have friends, a family, and maybe even love.

But, for now, he needed some clothes.

And that was what he was doing. As soon as they left the restaurant, Frankie leaving someone else in charge of the restaurant, all five of them went straight to where Tia Ra was staying. It turned out to be the priciest Inn in Gibaria.

Her room was immense and was full of dummies wearing clothing and jewelry. There were also big rolls of fabric leaning against the walls.

Tia had ordered Frankie to put on another dress, one given by the lioness, and to burn the one she was wearing.

While the rabbit changed, in another room, Tia Ra asked Tai to come with her for the fitting of his new clothes behind the curtains at the end of a catwalk.

At first Tai Lung was happy that he was getting new clothes for free but that until Tia, one of the most beautiful women he's ever laid eyes on, told him take Arc's big shirt off.

His eyes instantly widened by the shocking new that in order for the designer to make him new garments, he needed to be completely naked, in front of her.

"What's wrong?" she said, and then she realized the problem, "Oh, there's nothing to be ashamed of; I have sixteen boys back home, so I'm well aware of how little boys look like."

If she only knew that he is a thirty eight year old man. _Whoa, sixteen kids? That's a bit of a turn-off._

Tia crouched next to him, snapping the leopard out of his thoughts, and unbuttoned the shirt. Once he was completely bare his paws reacted and cover his crotch, making him look like a little, scared kitten.

While the gorgeous lioness measured his legs, hips, arms and torso, Tai Lung kept thinking about this being some form of sexual experience with a woman. _Damn! I always wanted a hot, __**hot **__woman like her to touch me like this!_ In that instance, Tia was measuring his waist and place one of her paws on his hip, to hold the measuring tape in place, making the bottom of her palm rest sideways, right on top of his butt cheek.

Tai Lung's cheeks (the ones on his face) burned red.

All of his blood started pumping straight to his…

* * *

On the other side of the curtains Arc, Zoi and Frankie, wearing her new dress, this one having ruffles by the side, were waiting for Tai to come out with his new clothes. Then they heard Tia ask for someone to give her a towel.

"Why, what's the problem?" Zoi asked her, pulling a handkerchief from her bag.

"Tai has a nosebleed!"

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter. Poor Tai, he's stuck with a group of nut jobs. You learned a bit more about The Underground, like I promised. Just in case you want to know, Tia was inspired by Tyra Banks, you saw her being a bit bitchy in this chapter because of her rivalry with another designer. Arc being Arc. Zoi got the scoop that she so much wanted. And Tai got to spend a day with the people that will help him. May the Gods have mercy on him. Dinoflagellates are photosynthetic protists that live in water and when the water is disturbed the little organisms create a flash of light, which is called the Red Tide.

On the next chapter you will meet someone else, friend or foe?

Please review. Your opinions matter to me.


	3. All about the numbers

First off, I want to apologize for what I said about dinoflagellates, I confused a species of them with another, not all of them make the light effect and it is not called Red Tide. The Red Tide is actually a bunch of red, toxic dinoflagellates. People, do not swim in the Red Tide, you'll die if you do. Sorry for the mistake. As for the ones sticking to the ceiling of The Underground, I simply made them up. They are marine creatures.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, but I do own The Underground.

Chapter 3: All about the numbers

* * *

There he stood, with Zoi pressing a handkerchief to his nose, embarrassed about what just happened; he was naked, being physically touched by a beautiful woman, getting turned on and after that having a nosebleed trying to hide what he was feeling.

He looked over to where Tia was. The lioness, apparently, got all of the requiring measurements and was cutting pieces of fabric. Then she knitted some of the pieces together. It was actually very entertaining watching her make clothing.

Tai Lung also noticed that she was using a lot of fabric, is she making me an entire clothing line?

"Hey, what's going on in there? Is Tai alright?" This came from Arc on the other side of the curtain.

"Don't worry, he's okay." Zoi reassured him.

"Well then hurry up, I want to see him in his new getup."

It only took Tia Ra minutes to finish the cub's clothing, that and many other garments.

Tai Lung was impressed by the lioness' speed. But, then he was wondering, why did she made him so many changes of clothes?

He wanted to ask her how did she do it so fast, but he just let it slide as she grabbed him and started dressing him.

At first, he felt a bit ashamed that someone else was putting clothes on him, but then he realized something, no one has ever done anything for him in his life, and these people, whom he met that same day, were giving him things from their own hearts, it was like having a family, the family that he never had. So he sucked it up and let Tia continue.

The snow leopard noticed that he was being dressed in a white, cotton suit that covered his whole body, except for his face because it had a hole in that area. Was it a hood?

He looked down to his feet, they were covered by the strange garment. What the hell did she put on me!

The Tia pulled a long piece of paper, that was laying on her working desk, and called Arc. She gave him some sort of instruction that the leopard cub couldn't comprehend. Mostly, because why would she want him to do that?

"What is this thing?" Tai Lung finally asked, referring to the suit.

"Oh, this is something that children your age love to wear!"

He gulped and with good reason. This is going to be bad.

Tia then instructed him on what he needed to do, "When you walk out those curtains you must walk all the way to the end, where there's a mirror, pose, then walk back here so I can fit you the other look."

He raised an eyebrow, mostly out of confusion but he decided to obey her.

He took a step forward towards the curtain, knowing that this was a bad idea. When he walked out and was standing on the runway, he noticed that it was longer than what it looked like a while ago. Zoi, Frankie and Arc were watching, waiting for him to show them his new clothing. However, the lion was holding the paper given to him by Tia, ready to read, apparently, what was written on it. They were all waiting on stools by the side of the long stage.

All that Tai Lung wanted to do was see how he looked like in this strange outfit, and the only way to do that was to walk the whole thing and see himself in the mirror. Mostly, it was just to get it over with.

As he was walking down the runway, he noticed the faces of the spectators; Zoi and Frankie were both releasing a bunch of 'awwws', unlike Arc who stood up and started reading out loud the long piece of paper.

"This first look was inspired by everyone's favorite French chef. Notice how the fluffy tail matches the ears."

Tai Lung was thinking what he meant by fluffy tail and ears, they were concealed in the outfit, which by the way, was uncomfortable. However, he did wonder, what the extra weight on top of his head was, it couldn't be just the hood.

He decided to pick up his pace, he didn't just wanted to get it over, he also wanted to see how he looked like.

What felt like minutes were actually mere seconds of humiliation as he tried to ignore the cooing sounds that came from Zoi and Frankie, even Arc was starting to join them. He could hear them say 'he looks so cute' and 'oh, just look at him'. It all made his cheeks burn red of embarrassment.

_What the hell did Tia put on me?_

When he finally made it to the end of the runway and saw himself reflected in the mirror, he felt his heart stopped at the site in front of him. He just stared at his reflection, his eyes widened, pupils constricted and jaw hanging open. Tia dressed him in a suit that made him look like, like…

…like a rabbit!

He noticed the fluffy ears that Arc mentioned, right on top of his head, they seemed to be sewed to the hood, and, by turning his waist around, the fluffy tail, that was a bouncing puffball.

Finally finding a pulse in his body, he turned around and ran as fast as he could, to hide, and to give Tia a piece of his mind, to the backstage behind the curtains.

Before exiting the catwalk he noticed that Frankie was wearing a strange, cylindrical, black hat on her head. Where did it come from? He had no idea. Maybe Tia Ra gave it to her.

Once he was secure, behind the curtains, from the eyes of the audience, if it can be called that, he marched straight to the lioness who had just embarrassed him.

"The fuck was _that_?" He yelled angrily at her, and then he stared at her menacingly, "Am I some sort of a joke to you?"

"Language!" This came from Zoi from the other side of the curtain.

Tai Lung ignored the raccoon and kept his attention to the lioness with fists gripped so hard they were quivering, and eyes squinted, he waited for her answer.

Tia just eyed him confused, some of it because of his strong language, "I said I was going to surprise you."

"I thought you meant you were going to make me good clothing", he shot back, "not a rabbit costume!"

"And what's so wrong about wearing a bunny suit, it's all the rage in Europe!"

He then pointed at the top of his head, "My ears are pressed against my head", he then turned around and pointed at his rump, "and my tail feels like it's shoved right up my ass!"

"Language." Said Zoi again.

Ignoring the raccoon once again, Tia continued, "That was the first look, you still have to try on all the others and pick the one you like."

He just stared at her after hearing that. If the first look was bad, the rest should be even worse.

She interrupted his thoughts when she grabbed him and started taking off the rabbit suit.

"Now, let me fit you in the second look."

Tai Lung eyes widened at the realization of the amount of fabric she used earlier, "Exactly, how many looks are you going to dress me in?"

"I don't remember how many there are exactly, I gave Arc the list of all the different looks, without it I don't know the amount of them."

The snow leopard's eye began twitch rapidly at hearing that.

"Don't worry, this is a good thing, the more options the better it is to pick off the ones you don't like." She explained.

"But, was all of this really necessary? The runway. The amount of garments. The audience." He could just pounce her and show her why no one should dare to mock him.

As he was trying to control his impulses, Tia Ra kept trying to convince the cub that this, his own fashion show, was a good thing, "Look at it this way, if you like more than one change of clothes, I'll let you keep every piece of clothing you liked."

As long as it isn't something embarrassing!

She suddenly grabbed and held him in midair started taking the rabbit suit off of him, to dress him in another getup, this one being separates.

Finally, wearing the second look and standing in front of the curtain, readying himself to walk out onto the runway, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

As soon as he walked out Arc started to read out loud the words on the paper, "And here he is, wearing look number two, look how the pink sparkles when the light hits it."

* * *

It was night time, he'd been running nonstop for days, but he didn't care, all that mattered to him was making sure the package he was carrying made safe and sound, and in the time limit.

Wearing his usual blue uniform (vest and trousers) and a bag on his back, to hold the goods.

It's what he does for a living, as a world renounce deliveryman, it was his job to make sure that the goods made it to their destinations in one piece, that no one else laid their paws on it, and in the given time he had to make the delivery.

And he made it, in time, for a very important delivery.

All that was left to do was to hand over the package to its owner, who was a feared mobster, in The Underground and in the surface.

It was a good thing that he feared no one, specially, since he was in the possession of something very precious to the crime lord.

His name is Lan Se, once he takes on a job he never stops until the message, or package, is delivered.

Being a cheetah had its privileges; he was incredibly fast that no one was able to catch him. No bandit, no ninja, absolutely no one. Which is the reason why he is always busy making deliveries, that and that he promises full confidentiality to his clients.

The guards let him in without even checking if he was carrying weapon or anything of the sort. They were expecting him and the sooner their boss got what he wanted the better.

Of course, the meeting ground was a brothel. It was where Lord Adesh, his client and mob leader, spent most of his time.

There he was, right where one of his goons said he'd be, sitting on a bed with a dozen prostitutes kissing, touching, licking and pleasuring him.

The sweaty warthog opened his eyes and noticed Lan Se standing in the doorway, "Ah, you made it just in time, like always."

"I have a delivery for you, from one of your henchmen back at the Imperial city."

"Good, I knew I could trust you, and as a reward I'll let you take one of these ladies to bed."

The cheetah gave him an odd but bemused look, "No, thank you. You of all people should know what to pay me with; you are, after all, a preferred customer."

"You know I'm going to pay you for your troubles, I'm just being a gentleman. Besides, they're already paid for."

Taking a look at the women surrounding the mob leader, he said with an amused tone, "Well, there is no pig in sight!", then held his paws flat in a supplicating fashion, giving an apologetic smile, and added, "Uh, no offense!"

"None taken."

"But my answer is still no, I have places to be." Said the feline.

"Suit yourself!" Said the warthog in a musical way. Before he continued with his… 'bedtime'.

After being paid by one of Adesh's henchmen, Lan Se exited the sinful place to head back at his headquarters, where there surely had to be many other job requests.

He was going to do that until a dark figure stood in his way.

The cheetah recognized who it was, the long sleeved shirt and black, sleeveless vest, along with black pants and shoes, and the gloves he was wearing. But, what made him realize who this person is was the wide smile plastered on its face.

"Odd to see you here." Lan Se decided to start the conversation, "Let me guess, you want me to deliver something?"

"Of course, why else would I seek you out?" A raspy voice came from the unknown figure.

Lan Se raised an eyebrow and gave a smug smile, "To play a _game_, perhaps?"

"Maybe some other time." Said the raspy voice.

The feline eyed him closely, "Then, what exactly do you want me to deliver?"

The strange being drew closer to the cheetah and spoke slowly, "I want you to take this message to the Jade Palace." He then hands over a scroll to the cat.

Lan Se accepted the job by taking the message; he then smirked at his newest client, "Gambler, you are full of surprises, but if I had to guess what you are up to, then I hope you planned all of it through."

Hearing that, the dark figure just smiled, "I already have. You see when the odds are in your favor, that's when you can gamble and risk everything." He then turned his head, his attention was taken by the people in the market, whom haven't noticed both of them. "Look at them, living normal, happy lives, allowing their children to play on these streets because it is safe," he turned to stare at the cheetah in the eyes, "and yet, there is a whorehouse right next to us, full of mobsters, bandits, murderers… and cheating husbands. These people risk everything without even knowing, or caring, about the dangers they put themselves, their families, their loved ones in."

There was a pause and then he added, "When you gamble, and the odds are against you, the house _always_ wins."

Lan Se simply told him that he accepted the job, and that he was going to do it no matter what. Once he accepts a request he never backs down.

"Yes, I know you well, I trust you, mostly because you never reveal the identities if your clientele."

Lan Se added, "And I charge my clients when the task is done, so you better not hide or I will find you."

"Wouldn't dream of doing something like that. Now, if you don't mind, I have other business to take care of."

And with that they both parted to their ways.

Heading straight to the Valley of Peace, Lan Se was starting to regret accepting the scroll. Nothing good ever came from the man he was talking to, in fact, he was afraid of him.

The Thread of Hope is still under reparations. I wonder if there is a way to reach the Valley of Peace through The Underground? Lan Se thought to himself as his mind sticked to the realization of the job he had just taken. Let's just hope this doesn't blow up in my face.

* * *

"I just love how the feathers move with the flow of the hips, don't you think? This is look number five hundred thirty seven."

As Arc kept announcing each look and Zoi and Frankie kept cheering, and saying how cute he looked, Tai Lung was about to lose it.

_Can I go back to Chorh-Gom?_ He muttered to himself, gritting his teeth as the 'torture' continued, griping his paws into fists, he could have sworn his claws dug in to the skin, drawing blood, but he couldn't tell, all he wanted was to find one look that he likes, however he hadn't found a single one that he liked.

He went through the curtains, leaving the runway behind him, and went straight to Tia. His expression showing both mortification and anger, he decided to put an end to all of this by giving the female feline a stern talk.

_I don't care how sexy she is, she is not getting away with this!_

But, before he could pounce on show her the definition of pain, she pulled out more clothing. "These are the last ones, the very last look of the night."

"You expect me to put that on, after everything you've made me wear? Hell no!"

"Language" This came from Zoi, still sitting in her spot, from the other side of the curtains.

Tia Ra was trying to convince the cub to wear her clothes, "Come on! I always save the best for last."

He eyed the folded garments she was holding, they seemed okay, and they weren't bright colors. He spied one of the fabrics were indigo.

Yet again, the clothing looked different when she holds it, and when he puts them on, they reveal what they truly are. Girly monstrosities.

And he wasn't going to do another lap on the runway wearing any of her designs.

Tia Ra kept insisting him to strut down the catwalk one more time, that he won't regret it. That and that if he didn't do as she says he will have to settle being naked, or wearing Arc's droopy shirt.

Tai Lung was blank, not knowing which of his choices he liked best. Should he humiliate himself one more time in the runway, or wear Arc's shirt, or simply stay nude?

"I choose to be naked!" He said with his chin high, arms crossed and giving her a determined look, confident of his decision.

However, Tia just grabbed him and started dressing him in the new and last look.

The little snow leopard had had it. "_That's it_!"

Tai Lung slipped through the lioness' grip, landing on the floor in a familiar crouched stance, then he jumped and threw a roundhouse kick at the side of her head.

But Tia didn't even flinch.

Tai Lung stared at her, after landing, and the all of a sudden he felt pain coming from his leg.

"What the hell just happened?" He yelled at the designer, and ignored Zoi's usual snapping remark for bad language.

However, Tia Ra just gave him an odd look, "Where did you learn to do that?"

Tai Lung, caressing his now injured leg, couldn't believe how weak he was, his body wasn't even able to cause a bit of damage, or maybe she's very strong.

"That was strong kick for an ankle biter such as yourself." Tia told him, impressed by the kick, "I think I actually felt it?" She said the last part placing her paw to where the snow leopard's leg made contact.

Tai Lung just stared at her, incredulously. He put all of his might into that kick and it did nothing. What is she made of?

Suddenly Tia grabbed him and gave him a stern look, "However, you have no right to do that, you have to respect your elders."

He smirked at hearing the designer's words, remembering everything he had done in the past. _It's too late for that!_

She grabbed him by the wrist and leaned so she could face him. Tai Lung actually looked scared at seeing her expression, he even gulped at hearing the next words from her.

"You do not hit your elders, and you certainly do not smile about doing those things, you need to be thought to respect others, young man."

Despite the sudden fear he felt for her, he spoke with his usual sarcastic tone, "What are you going to do me? Spank me!"

A dark look entered her eyes. This was the look (nothing to do with clothes) that he had heard from before. Any man knew this meant that they had crossed the line.

She actually sat down on the floor, placed the clothes by her side, made him kneel (by force) on all fours, pulled down the backside of the feathered pants and started spanking him.

The stinging pain surged through all of his body as she punished his rude behavior. He felt like he was being pummeled to death by her, he felt tears welling up in his eyes and trickling down his cheeks, and he felt humiliated by the fact that a woman was doing this to him, and not just a woman, a seamstress, for what it's worth.

He wanted to let out a cry of pain but he didn't let himself to do it, he didn't wanted to give her the satisfaction.

When it was over, the snow leopard didn't know if he should try to move or just lay there until he felt he could be able to walk. He did none of the above, instead he got up on his feet, "You bitch!" he said with gripped fists by his sides.

"Do I need to spank you again?" She responded.

Out of nowhere, Zoi appeared by Tia's side.

"What is going on here? He is cursing more than my ex!"

Tia explained everything that happened backstage.

Tai Lung started to take off the feathered pants, and everything else that came with it. So standing there naked he took the last look of the night, he eyed it closely and saw that there was nothing wrong with it. He looked up to see that the lioness and raccoon were both having a deep discussion about kids misbehaving these days. So, without letting any of them notice he dressed himself in the new clothes. These were more like the clothes that he was used to wear all the time; it reminded him of the clothing that he wore when he was four years old.

It was a perfect fit. The pants were indigo, it even had a hole for his bushy tail, and unlike the ones he used to wear, it had a different pattern, although it was quite similar. He put on a sash he found in a pile of broken fabric. He also found sandals on a small rack by the back wall. He took the shirt Tia Ra had pick out for him, she was too busy arguing with Zoi about the proper chastisement for certain situations. However, taking one good look at it, he decided to leave it on the floor. The shirt had bumps of threads, twisted and woven, and it felt rough, it was chiffon fabric. He knew that it would be uncomfortable especially since it represented femininity in fabric form.

Tai Lung walked through the curtains and down the runway, just to see how this look of his own appealed to him.

"Uh, Tia, the description on the list isn't anything like that." Arc said this, pointing at the snow leopard cub.

Tia Ra and Zoi stopped arguing and peeked at the cub and his clothing.

"The kid has taste." Tia Ra said watching the simplicity of the design.

Coming to the end of the runway, Tai Lung saw his reflection and he like what he saw. He was used to wear nothing more than pants, a sash or belt, and sandals.

He turned around and walked back, towards Tia. He didn't exit the catwalk, the designer stood in his way. She was looking at him with a knowing look, "Last time someone took over one of my fashion shows, no one ever heard from that person ever again. However, your look was so good, that I'll let it slide, that and that this wasn't a real fashion show."

"Uh, thanks?" He said looking a bit nervous by her words. After what she did to him backstage, he never wanted to tick her off. Thank goodness no one else saw him getting spanked.

"It's so effortless, it's _fierce_!" She said the last word extending her arm forward, not entirely, straightening her index finger and waving it.

Arc kept quiet, telling himself how perfect the look is for what he had planned for tomorrow.

Tia Ra hugged the cub in a strong embrace, burying his face in her cleavage, "Tai, I must thank you, this look of yours has given me inspiration for my next children clothing line." Then she gave him an apologetic smile and look in her eyes, "…and I'm sorry for spanking you!"

"Whoa, I guess it is true what they say about the things that happen backstage." This came from Frankie wearing the cylindrical hat on her head.

Tai Lung wasn't able to hear anything. His mind was screaming at the fact that most of his face was touching an incredibly hot woman's chest.

Zoi ended the embrace by telling Tia Ra about her review of her children's line. This made Tai Lung reach a very obvious conclusion.

"Hey, you were using me to try out your clothes for some future fashion show?"

"Well, you were the only person here who could fit in any of the garments, that and that you were going to do it for free. Child models aren't cheap!" Then as she noticed how the cub was staring at her, his jaw open, ears drooping and one eye twitching, she added, "I did say I was going to surprise after all."

* * *

As he rested on a bed, Tai Lung tried to fall asleep. But he couldn't.

His mind was running wild by everything that had occurred that very same day.

He was currently staying in one of the inn's rooms with Arc. Tia Ra paid for the commodities. The archeologist refused at first saying that he was going to set up a pair of hammocks outside. Hearing that, Tai Lung pleaded and persuaded the lion to accept the free room. He wasn't going to pass up a free night at a high luxury inn for laying beneath the moonlight.

Even though, the moonlight was created by the dinoflagellates, when they go to sleep, the light they produce becomes faint, enough to be compared with the real light of the moon.

Tai Lung couldn't stop thinking about the people he met. Coincidentally, all of them are travelers. Arc was by far the most weird person he's ever known. The teenage feline just never stopped to amaze and/or shock the snow leopard by his antics.

Zoi Zenigata, now there is a classy, motherly lady, except when she gets hysterical about the smallest issue. Tai Lung wanted to stab himself in the chest with whatever he could find when she started losing it when she wasn't able to find something very important to her. She even started shrieking 'I need tampons!' out loud.

If looks could kill, he would have been dead after seeing straight into Tia Ra's green eyes. She is more than meets the eye, Tai Lung experienced it firsthand himself, even though, she humiliated him, he could tell she had good intentions in her heart, even if it was beneath her amazing chest. Yet, something about her kept his mind fogged with questions, one of them being: where did she got all that strength?

As much as the lioness, Frankie French Fry held more questions. She didn't even cooked their meal at her own restaurant, saying that she wasn't in the best of moods, everyone else understood, but not him. Arc being the kindhearted one told him about Frankie's curse involving food. She loves to cook it has been a family tradition, but the rabbit's food could only be edible when she cooked it while experiencing joy, happiness, love, friendship, etc. However, when she isn't feeling well, her food becomes what her emotions are, which have actually ended up killing many people in the past. Some say that she poisoned all of them but no one ever found a drop of poison in any of the leftovers.

Tai Lung understood why she didn't wanted to cook, after wearing a dress from one of her friends rivals, and then being discovered wearing it by the one she was trying to hide it from must have been pretty upsetting. He was grateful that Frankie decided not to risk anyone's life by taking the rest of the day off.

At the same time he also felt surprised that the nice rabbit chef, who loves to cook has to limit her emotions and feeling for the welfare of others and for her passion.

Still, he understood what it felt like to be cursed with something you loved and were passionate about.

At the far side of the room he heard Arc stirring in his sleep, muttering words, sometimes sentences like 'I love you, Naki' and 'Naki, will you marry me?'.

Who is this Naki person? Tai Lung wondered. At the same time he couldn't stop thinking about what he was going to do. He was a four year old cub, stuck in some world miles beneath the surface. Maybe this was his second chance to start a new life, after all, Arc did say The Underground was a place for 'rebirth'. Still, he wanted to continue his life as it was, start from scratch, knowing that he isn't the Dragon Warrior, by being defeated in combat to the panda. Even if it hurt to admit such a thing to himself, right now he had bigger things to worry about.

But, maybe, all of that could wait, he first needed to learn more of this new world he discovered before he would try and reach the surface.

And yet, he felt that he didn't want to leave his new friends. They could have just helped him because of his appearance, in other words, for being a lost child, but that didn't stop him from wanting their friendship because it actually felt good. Even, if he has to endure being with them in public.

As for tomorrow, Arc did say that the two of them were going on an adventure.

Only time will tell what that meant, for now Tai Lung was starting to drift away into slumber.

* * *

A/N: As you can see, I lied. You met two new characters. Lan Se (lan se means blue) and Gambler.


	4. Heat

Sorry it took long for another update, I've been very busy lately but at least I made the most of it. Was anyone able to tell that Tia extending her arm and waving her finger was a reference to Tyra Banks? Today, you'll get to learn more about the characters you've met, and you will want to know what will happen next after Tai Lung and Arc 'ascend'. Compared to the other ones, this is a long chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks does. Do they own The Underground? No, I do.

Chapter 4: Heat

* * *

"What are we doing here on the ass end of the world?" _Or this world._

"We are here to resume the exploring, that you interrupted yesterday."

"I never asked for your help."

"You're welcome!"

"What? No, I wasn't thanking you, I-" He was cut off.

"You can keep thanking me later; we need to find the entrance before anyone sees us."

The two felines were in the same spot where they both met the other day, in the Ruins of Terkhonazya. Arc, wearing a backpack full of supplies for this kind of occasion, had said that they were going on an adventure today.

"Come on, I think I remember where the entrance was!" Arc said pointing at a strange rock formation.

"Entrance to what?" Tai Lung, wearing his new clothing (indigo pants, sash, sandals and a sleeveless white shirt), knew what the archeologist was talking about; the lion couldn't stop talking about it the other day. Then with a sarcastic air to it, he added, "Civilization beneath civilization? Where have I heard that before?"

"It's over here."

Tai Lung took a good look at what the lion referred as the entrance. This led the snow leopard to raise an eyebrow and gave the other feline an annoyed look. "Arc," there was a short pause, "that's a tree stump."

"I know it's a tree stump." Arc responded. "But it is also the only entrance to the Temple of Terkhonazya."

Arc continued talking about his discovery, "All this time, the ruins around us were just decoys to fool people into thinking that there was nothing valuable here. That was until I arrived here and discovered the secret."

Tai Lung frustrated by the lion's constant reminder of the discovery, he let him know other facts, "Yes, you said it over and over again yesterday. You kept saying it in your sleep, that and love confessions to some Naki person."

Arc looked stricken, eyes wide, pupils constricted, his mouth moving a little as if trying to make words come out. He just kept staring at the snow leopard.

The moments passed and finally Arc made words come out of his mouth, "Please, don't tell anyone, specially Tia!"

_Whoa!_ Tai Lung's eyes widened as he digested everything he just witnessed. What does Tia have to do with this Naki?

"Alright, I won't tell anyone!"

"You promise?" his eyes seemed like they would pop out of their sockets.

Tai Lung held up his paw, "I swear."

Arc just looked back at him suspiciously, "Do you mean you promise or that you are going to use bad language again? You swear a lot for someone your age!"

"Yes, I promise I won't tell anyone about the fact that you love this Naki."

The lion actually took a big breath of relief, "Good! Then we can continue!"

Unsheathing his claws, Arc ran his index finger claw across the vascular cambium of the stump.

Then a click sound came from inside the stump.

The flat top of the tree stump actually opened like a lid. Revealing the so called entrance which pretty much was a hole, and by the looks of it, it seemed to be a deep fall.

_Didn't see that coming_. He didn't had enough time to contemplate what he just saw because the archeologist grabbed a hold of Tai Lung's arm, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Without warning, Arc jumped down the hole, still holding Tai Lung's arm, dragging the snow leopard along with him.

"_Arc, you crazy son of a bitch!"_ That was all he said, more like yelled, before the sound slowly faded away as they both fell deeper and deeper.

* * *

The only thing that kept him from having a complete meltdown was the fact that he was under duty and he needed all the time he had to deliver the message to the Jade Palace. He was stuck, knowing that the only way to reach the Valley of Peace was still under repairs after the battle that occurred on it, and now he was taking a small break for breakfast at Frankie's restaurant in Gibaria.

He traveled nonstop, he reached the Beijing and went straight to one of The Underground's secret entrances, this one being a pub. Most of them are disguised as recreational places, such as that, just to keep the secret a secret.

Everyone who knew of The Underground, whose been to it, live in it, or simply has heard of it, keeps it a secret from the rest of the world. They all know what the consequences are for having a part in the revealing of The Underground and it is not pleasant. Since the secret world is the only way to escape life itself, all who knows of its existence try to keep it that way. Those who have no place to go, are rejected from society, and can't go back or just want to escape everything about life itself, escape to The Underground for a second chance in life.

"Lan Se!" the sweet, cheery voice came from behind him. He looked back where he thought the sound came from, besides the other clients too busy enjoying their meals, there was no one. He turned back and noticed a top hat resting on the table. The cheetah picked it up and then looked around to see if the owner was around. Still, there was no one he could point out to be the owner.

He turned back to the table and noticed a note. It said: "Tap me". He did as the writing said, by taping the hat gently, and…

The hat actually started to shake, which caused the cheetah to drop it on the table, then it burst into flames. Lan Se sat up, startled by what just happened. But as the fire appeared it also vanished, leaving smoke behind.

The feline tried to get one of the waiters to help him air out the smoke, but he noticed something hidden in it.

"Ta dah!" It was the same voice from earlier. Everyone in the restaurant started applauding. Confused at first, Lan Se realized what really happened as he saw his good friend sitting on the table.

Frankie French Fry laid there listening to the crowd and hungry customers cheer and applaud the show. If there was something she enjoyed besides cooking was entertaining others. What better way to do that than with a magic act every once in a while? It was why her restaurants were so popular. Not only was the food amazing but she always thought that pleasing others was more important.

"How come I never see it coming?" Lan Se said with a flush of embarrassment.

"I always find a new way to surprise you, don't I?" The white rabbit said as she hopped down from the table.

The cheetah smiled, "You never cease to amaze me, Frankine!"

"Please, we have known each other for so long. Call me Frankie!"

"…French Fry?" he finished.

"For _you,_ just Frankie." She reassured him.

"Alright then, what's on the menu?" He asked perfectly knowing of her culinary skills. In fact, he has tasted her food on many an occasion, it was the best meals he ever tasted, each being better than the last.

"Whatever you like, handsome!" She said this blinking her eyes rapidly.

"Hmm, how about that delicious rose petal soup of yours?"

"Oh, you want that one! Sure, I'll make it in an instant." She couldn't keep the blush out of her face as she heard his demand for a recipe she invented just for him. The fact that he even remembered it made her want to squeal with joy.

Yes, Frankie French Fry has a huge crush on the feline deliveryman since the first time they met. It happened many years ago when the rabbit was just a teenager and the cheetah was on his early twenties, she was still in culinary school to inherit her family's restaurant (which she then turned into a line of restaurants) he was there to deliver a package, he had just began his delivery services for anyone who was willing to pay. What she saw that day made her feel like a sinner, the cheetah was shirtless, revealing his slender, yet, muscular torso. She took that chance to ask him if he wanted something to eat, saying that it was on the house, despite 'the no _shirt_, no shoes no service' policy. However, the owners of the restaurant were able to make exceptions. She cooked a soup for him as soon as he accepted her offer. The rabbit girl wanted to give the feline something very special, like the way she felt on the inside when thinking of him. All she could feel was heat in her body and that is how she wanted him to feel as well.

The first thing that came to her mind was red roses. Her mother having a garden full of them gave her the opportunity to create a meal beyond ordinary. Picking the roses' petals, crushing them and throwing them into a pot of soup, she still couldn't keep her mind running wild on thoughts about the deliveryman waiting for her. She felt this intense heat inside of her that felt like it was going to burn her.

When it was finally prepared, served on a bowl and presented by a magic trick, she felt like it took an eternity for him to taste her handiwork. But all she heard was a moan of pleasure and delight coming from the cheetah, then he showed his appreciation by taking the bowl in his paws and gulping down the soup. "This is the best thing I have ever tasted!"

Hearing that she knew she was in love. Hearing his voice was invigorating.

Ah, that soft, masculine voice of his.

She suspected that her strong feelings for him were the cause of the amazing taste of the soup. However, she didn't mind one bit, all she cared was to please him. That heat from earlier was the cause for her best cooked meal ever.

In fact, whenever she felt gloomy or sad on the job, all she had to do was think of the handsome cheetah and it was like nothing could break her joyful attitude.

Now, in the present, she was going to prepare her love interest the soup which made the sparks fly. They had met on more than one occasion, with the traveling they both do, whether to make deliveries or to expand the family business, they seem to always cross roads with each other. And every single meal she prepared for him tasted better than the last.

And yet, Frankie has never been brave enough to tell him how she felt about him.

She served a helping of the soup in a bowl (the finest one she could find). Chunks and pieces of rose petals floating on the surface of the broth. She took a whiff of the steam and even she felt chills of pleasure from the aroma.

She walked out of the kitchen to hand over the meal personally, but discovered that her loving feline was occupied talking to a certain raccoon reporter.

Seeing this, Frankie went as fast as possible to place the bowl on the table to interrupt whatever they were talking about. "Here is your soup!"

Lan Se chuckled softly, finding the rabbit's arrival funny. "My, it looks even tastier than the last time you cooked it for me!"

Looking like an eager teenage girl, she placed both her paws to her heart. "Oh, thank you, Lan Se!" She finished the statement by giggling softly.

Leaving the feline to enjoy his soup, Frankie just stared at him, examining every detail about him, and she loved each one. He looked like how she remembered him in all of her memories of him: tall, muscular, kind, friendly, but most of all he loves her cooking.

"Frankie, are you alright?"

The rabbit turned to the owner of the voice and saw that Zoi was still there, sitting right next to her.

"Uh, I, um, y-yeah!" She answered her, a bit tongue tied.

Zoi looked at Frankie, questioning her nervousness; she knew that the rabbit and deliveryman have known each other for many years.

Now she wondered what this sudden reaction meant, hoping that it wasn't what she thought it was. Still, Zoi couldn't blame her for having feelings for him; Lan Se is a good looking guy.

So for now she chose to stay quiet about the topic.

"Frankie, do you know where I can find Tia Ra?" Zoi asked the rabbit.

"Tia Ra is here as well?" This came from Lan Se who stopped eating at that moment.

"Yes," after answering the cheetah's question she turned back to Zoi, "and, she told me she was going to pick up someone at the train station and later buy more of the same fabric of the indigo pants Tai was wearing. Do you know where he is?" She had not seen him since last night, she had also not seen Arc since yesterday.

"He went to the forest with no name with Arc." Zoi answered her.

"Who's Tai?" Lan Se, having finished his soup, asked.

Zoi was about to answer him, but Frankie cut her off, "He's a snow leopard, he's four years old, Arc found him wondering the forest naked, he says he's from the Valley of Peace-"

"_The Valley of Peace!_" He snapped back.

"Y-yes, he said he is from the Valley of Peace."

"I have to make a delivery there but I can't reach it because the Thread of Hope is under repairs."

"Tai doesn't remember how he got to The Underground." Zoi informed him.

Lan Se wasn't going to give up, specially if he's on the job, "I don't care, he's still the only lead I have to get to the Valley of Peace."

In a desperate attempt to keep the handsome feline from leaving, and go searching for Tai and Arc, Frankie tried her best to make him stay put. "Then, you might want to stay here and wait for them to come back. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be back soon!"

Zoi then added, "Well, the ruins don't have much and I'm pretty sure Arc would never want to endanger the life of a young child."

"Alright, I could use a break." Then he looked at Frankie, "And I could also go for some dessert!" He purred the last word.

* * *

Walking in the dark, the only thing illuminating the way was an oil lantern, held by a possibly insane lion.

The oil lamp was left there yesterday. When the archeologist had emerged with the shield the other day, he knew he was going to do some more exploring later, so it was just to save himself time looking for his lamp.

There were hieroglyphics carved and painted on the walls in a language he didn't understand, and he doubted that anyone else could.

Tai Lung wanted to know what those symbols meant but he couldn't, he wasn't even able to tell if they were letters in some foreign language or not.

He took a look at Arc and he noticed the lion looking at the walls and actually deciphering what those symbols meant. "Arc, you can understand these squiggles?"

The other feline looked at him with the same amused expression he always carried, "I sure can! Dou you want me to translate them for you?"

"That would be nice!" He responded flatly. Then he pointed at a wall with what appeared to have pictures of people, wearing strange outfits, dancing around a barely dressed woman, "What does it say here?" He was pointing to symbols beneath the pictures.

Arc took a good look and translated them, "Ra, ra, ah, ah, ah, roma, roma-ma, Gaga, ooh, la, la, want your bad romance."

"Huh, I guess it's just gibberish. But, kind of catchy though."

"Yeah, they kind of were." The snow leopard agreed. Then he noticed a stairway. "Let's go this way."

"Careful, I haven't checked that place for," he leaned closer to Tai and whispered in the cub's ears, "_booby traps._"

The lion handed the oil lamp to Tai Lung and went ahead to make sure it was safe. He didn't need light to know where he was going, he was able to feel his surroundings every time he took a step, it works better when he can't see anything at all. Also, being barefooted helps out a lot.

"Everything seems to be safe enough." Arc told the snow leopard from the distance.

Tai Lung took a step forward.

"Oh, just don't step on the tile in front of you!" Arc warned, a little too late.

Before he could react or jump out of the way, a trap door opened beneath his feet, in other words, he fell down the hole.

Arc ran as fast to where the cub had fallen through but the trap door shut close. He tried to open it, even stepping on the same tile that activated it, but nothing happened. Apparently, the trap door only works once.

"_Tai!"_ He yelled. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

But there was no response except for his own echoes fading away.

* * *

If there were any worse positions to land from a very high fall, landing on your face probably is the one everyone should try to avoid.

He grunted on the floor and then he yelled in pain as the oil lamp landed on the back of his head, luckily it didn't break nor the flame went out.

"_Damn it!"_ He said gritting his teeth as he pressed his paws on the spot the lamp made contact, he felt the bump it made and blood trickling down his scalp. Then he noticed he was also bleeding from a wound on his forehead caused by the high fall.

He was going to kill Arc for this.

He gathered his strength and forced himself to his feet. "Arc?" He said trying to get a response. _"Arc!"_ This time he said it at the top of his lungs but there was no answer.

He picked up the oil lamp to see where exactly he was. It was an empty chamber with hieroglyphics, markings and pictures on the walls.

However there was one wall that took all of his attention. And it was the only reason why he didn't start punching, kicking or smashing the walls to ruble.

There was something different about the symbols he was seeing on it, first, he was able to somewhat understand what they meant second they were step by step instructions.

They were pictures representing a kung fu practitioner. He eyed each and every last position of the warrior, so he could learn what exactly was so special about this move that was hidden from not just the world but also from The Underground.

His eyes were filled with excitement and joy; he was going to learn a new fighting style that only he will know and use.

Tai Lung wasn't able to read the writing on the wall, but he was able to read the picture which was the most important thing.

The first moves represented on the wall were initial steps into some other move.

Following and doing the same as he observed the instructions shown in front of him, he found it to be pretty simple but useful in combat. It was basic kung fu stances and fancy finger gestures.

He spent hours perfecting the first set of movements until he decided to try the other set. These didn't look as complicated, mostly he had to meditate and redo the hand movements in the first set.

Tai Lung sat down crossed legged, in lotus position, just like the practitioner on the wall, and began doing the same hand movements he had just learn and perfected.

From what the illustrations showed Tai Lung had to make some sort of sphere of light come from his palms as he tried to make them come in contact with each other. From what he understood, he needed to use force to make that happen.

He was starting to get hungry. All he ate that day was a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon that Frankie had cooked for him in the morning, before the snow leopard woke up, saying that little boys need a proper diet to stay healthy, so they can grow big and strong. _I already know I'm going to grow up to be big and strong!_

This was nothing compared to being left to starve in prison for weeks, then to be fed scraps, only for the process to be repeated. He knew he was going to survive going a whole day without food.

What truly amazed him about the breakfast in bed was the magic tricks performed by Frankie herself. He was impressed by her abilities, which says a lot coming from him.

Tai Lung spent a lot of time trying to duplicate what was on the wall that he lost track of time and forgot the fact that he was stuck for the time being inside a trap.

He was attempting to make the sphere of light but got nothing in return. If only he could read the hieroglyphics like Arc?_ Speaking of the lion, where the hell is he? Did he continue on without me?_

It didn't matter that much to him that someone abandoned him since his own father did the same and worse. But, it did hurt him to think that the first person to show him compassion left him for dead, just like everyone else he thought they would never turn their backs on him, but they did.

Those memories pissed him off, to give up your life for someone else and for that person not to appreciate anything he ever did.

All of a sudden Tai Lung felt something coming from his paws, like a force.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Whenever he tried to make his paws come in contact with one another this invisible force didn't let that happen. When he tried, he felt his arms shaking uncontrollably and then his body started doing the same.

Just as easy as it began it ended. Tai Lung started to wonder if that was what the sphere of light represented on the images meant.

He took a quick look at the flame in the oil lamp, which was fading. Soon, he would be engulfed by the darkness.

It wasn't that big of a problem, he could always smash his way through until he finds an exit.

He prepared himself to repeat the process but the wall in front of him came crashing down.

The dust settled revealing the very well known feline archeologist holding a torch. "Tai!" he ran and hugged the cub, crushing him with his arms (which are shielded with strong titanium).

"Arc," he croaked, "let go!"

Obeying, Arc released the cub, letting him fall flat on his face, and stepped back a bit.

Lying on the floor, he took several deep breathes and nursed his forehead. "Hey! What is this?" Arc exclaimed as he noticed the writing on the walls.

Arc wasted no time in translating the hieroglyphics to the snow leopard, "Aura Force: using your chi to transfer energy to your palms in order to move and/or manipulate matter. Entropy may be required. Warning: results may vary."

"The Aura Force!" Tai Lung said slowly contemplating the new move he just discovered, instead of hurting the lion for earlier.

"Oh crud!" the snow leopard flicked his vision to where the lion was standing. "I must have destroyed the wall containing all of the instructions!"

"Don't worry!" Arc turned around to look at the cub, who looked quite smug, "I memorized each one of the images and perfected them." He couldn't help buffing his knuckles against his chest. If there was one thing he enjoyed was to master a kung fu style and then tell everyone about the details.

Hearing that, Arc's ears stiffened, "Really! That's great! Maybe you could teach me!"

But just as exciting as it was to know that an unknown kung fu style wasn't lost forever, something else bothered him, "Wow, you learn fast for someone your age." He said with a confused expression.

Trying to hide his identity, surely if he found out Arc would turn him in, "Nothing is impossible." He grumbled a bit after realizing what he said.

"Quite true!" Arc nodded in agreement. With that he kept reading the inscriptions.

"Arc," the lion stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to the cub, "how did you find me?"

The archeologist smiled, "When you fell down that trapdoor, I went outside, grabbed a fallen tree branch, made it into a torch, entered the temple, looked and surged for secret passageways until I discovered a map of this whole place carve on a wall, which is what I used to find you."

"Does the map show how to get the bloody hell out here?"

A smirk appeared on the lions face, "It does! _And_ _much more!"_

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Follow me and I'll show you!" Arc said leading the way. Tai Lung wanted to get out of that place, the sooner the better, and the only way was to see what the archeologist discovered.

* * *

Having his head wounds attended, balls of cotton dipped in disinfectant (a bottle of liquor), the snow leopard walked along the seemingly never-ending halls and passageways of the temple. This time he stayed as close to Arc as possible, not wanting to trigger another booby-trap.

The archeologist gave a quick look at the cub, reached for his paw and held it.

He gave Tai Lung a sympathetic look, "It's okay, Tai! You don't have to be scared, I'm right here!"

"_I'm not scared!" _the cub snapped gritting his teeth. "I just don't want to trigger another trapdoor!"

Arc reassured him, saying that something like that won't be happening again since the map he found showed every little detail of every hall, passage, room and secret passage in that temple.

They reached the same stairway from earlier.

"Follow my lead." He handed the torch to the cub and with that Arc leaped on the third stair, he jumped forward landing four stairs away, carefully landing on the far left. He prepare himself for the next jump which was the farthest jump he needed to do. He braced himself and leaped, landing on his palms five stairs away, then flipping in the air, he landed at the end of the stairway.

He took a well deserved breath, "Now, you get to do-"

He was cut short by a familiar voice from behind him, "I'm right here."

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Arc said incredulously, he just couldn't believe it, Tai got to the top before him.

A smug look entered the snow leopard's face, "I guess I'm just a natural at it!"

Little did Arc know that Tai actually jumped all the way to the top without having to step on one of the steps.

"What's that?" Tai Lung said as he noticed a brick on the wall, right next to the stairway. It was sticking out and it had writing on it.

"What? This?" Arc pointed at the loose brick. He read what was written on it.

"Yes." Tai Lung confirmed.

The archeologist smiled and answered him, "Oh, this is a 'deactivate traps' button."

Tai Lung's jaw dropped and stared at the other feline in shock and anger, "And you knew that bloody switch was there, all along!"

Arc just stared at the cub blankly, "No, I was too worried about you to notice it." Then his expression turned to one of joy, "Good eye you have there!"

"You were exploring this place yesterday, how could you have not notice it?"

Arc gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry, sometimes I'm too distracted to even notice certain things."

He wanted to be angry at the other feline's incompetence but he couldn't. Looking at his face, always smiling at him, he knew he couldn't take his anger out on him.

"Let me make it up to you! I'll take you to someplace I know you will love! Come on!" He gestured with the torch and ran straight forward. Tai Lung followed him, trying to keep up with the lion whose speed increased as he went.

"Arc, wait up!" _He better not ditch me down here or there will be hell to pay!_

He ran after the lion, passing many hallways and statues, until he reached his fellow feline standing in front of a wall.

Tai Lung gave it a good look; the wall had the same hieroglyphics like any other structure in that place. However, there were lines forming what looked like to be a maze, right in the center there was a red dot.

"This is it." Arc said to the cub.

So this was the map of the temple, "What does that red dot means?"

Arc pointed to the dot, "You are here!"

"Of course!" Tai Lung said this rolling his eyes.

Then, the lion stretched his arm along a marked pathway that led far beyond, outside of the temple. This path was straight and appeared to have no end, Arc had to walk to keep running his finger along it, until he stopped on the far end of the wall.

"Do you know where this path leads to?" The lion smirked.

"How should I know? I have never been to The Underground before!" Tai said this dry and sardonic as ever.

"Well, let me tell you this path leads straight to Dinophyta's Pillar." Noticing the snow leopard's raised eyebrow he added, "It's that big mountain-like structure, we were able to see it from the window at our inn room, that big wall on the horizon that stretches to the sky is Dinophyta's Pillar."

He did saw it, yesterday and that same morning. It was an immense structure that, like many others that he had seen, though not as big as this one, supported The Underground. He was told that inside of them were tunnels used as a way to reach the surface.

From his perspective (looking out the window of the inn's room), Dinophyta's Pillar is far away from Gibaria.

Looking at Arc he knew that the lion wanted to explore whatever lied beyond that path.

The archeologist examined the pathway, trying to figure where it led to, then his eyes widened and turned to the snow leopard, "Tai, I know this sounds weird but I think I know where this tunnel leads to."

"Where does it lead to?" Despite the lion's expression Tai Lung didn't shift, it stayed as dry and careless as ever.

"I will tell you when we get there!" Saying that, the lion walked in the direction that the map showed, which will take them to the long pathway.

Tai Lung, having no other option, followed him till he caught up to the archeologist who had stopped on his tracks.

"Why did you stop?"

Arc pointed to a strange contraption in front of him, "That."

The way he said it sounded as if it brought exciting memories, the way a teenager does when he was thrilled about something he once did.

The snow leopard eyed the contraption a little closer and, of course, he didn't know what it was. It was obviously some sort of cart, except this one had a seesaw-like structure on top, in the center of the platform. Even stranger, its wheels were connected to two iron bars that extended throughout the entirety of the pathway (he couldn't really tell if they did because of the growing darkness of the tunnel).

His thoughts were interrupted when Arc gave him the answers he was looking for, "This is a Handcar. I use to, well I still do, steal these babies all the time from railroad workers. It's easier to get around places with one of _these_! And this one seems to be in perfect shape, despite how old it is."

Tai Lung looked around and noticed a second pair of iron bars that also extended throughout the seemingly endless hall. Apparently, back in the days this was used by many people as a way to get to… wherever this led to. For all he knew, there must be another handcar at the other end of these tracks.

Focusing on the lion once again, Tai Lung saw the archeologist hop on the cart, then he started pushing the seesaw structure, as hard as he could, up and down, which made a hard, loud, rusty screeching noise as the wheels began to move forward.

"Hop on! If we depart now we'll get there _way_ before sunset!" Arc exclaimed to the cub.

The smaller cat huffed but gave in and hopped on the handcar. He tried to help Arc push the seesaw lever up and down but he couldn't reach it. _Damn small stature!_

Admirable efforts but wasn't able to grasp the blasted thing. Arc saw the cub trying to help. He found it rather touching.

"Don't worry Snow Cub, let me do all the work. Besides, you must be exhausted from everything that occurred today."

And yesterday. The leopard thought to himself.

As the handcar started to pick up speed, Arc couldn't help but notice a grumbling sound coming from the snow leopard. That would be something rather hard to do with all the noise the handcar produced.

"Here, you take the torch but be careful with it!" He handed the only source of light to the cub. "Why don't you dig into my backpack and eat some lunch. I brought something special!"

He did as the lion said and found some very interesting things in there. A candle, a brush, some objects wrapped in cloth, a pouch filled with rocks (by its appearance), cotton, a bottle of liquor (he used that as a disinfectant earlier), a bunch of bowties, vials filled with liquids (medicine perhaps?), concealed within by a cork on each one, and a box sealed with a lid. He took and opened the box. There were two steamed salmon inside.

He's a cat, he loves fish.

He gave Arc a weird look, "Did Frankie gave them to you?"

"No, I caught them yesterday but Frankie cooked them for me. Dig in!"

And he did. It's been so long since he tasted fish meat. He could have sworn there were tears in his eyes caused by the amazing sensation the salmon gave him.

As delicious as it was he decided to leave the second salmon for the other cat who had been doing nothing more than to give and keep giving to him.

Not being sure if Arc should be part of his future, Tai Lung still wanted to know his new friend a little bit better, "Arc?"

The lion still pumping on the lever responded him by looking at him.

"Who is Naki? And how come Tia Ra can't know about how you feel about this? I promise I won't tell her."

Arc just looked back at the smaller feline, his face just blank until he gave the cub a sympathetic smile, "Alright, I'll tell you all about it."

Arc took a deep breath and exhaled. "Naki is a friend of mine. I've known her for so long. She's so beautiful, smart, kind, she's the same age I am and she's so beautiful."

Despite him being a full grown man (on the inside), Tai Lung couldn't help but smile and blush, just like Arc himself, except the lion was trying to avoid eye contact with the cub, even when telling him his deep, dark secret.

"And why shouldn't Tia find out about your crush on this _beautiful_ girl?" Tai Lung asked.

Finally, Arc made eye contact with the cub, his stare was penetratingly serious, "She's her mother." He answered flatly.

To that, Tai Lung raised an eyebrow. What was the big deal? Arc seemed like a fine young man. He is normal, just like everyone els… oh, that mystery's solved!

"Have you ever told anyone about your feelings for Naki?"

"No. Nakira and I are really close friends. What if she only sees me as that? Just a friend, and why would she want me when she's the spitting image of her mother? Why would she want to be with a guy like me?" then he muttered under his breath, "_I'm just a half…"_ he didn't let himself finish.

Tai Lung overheard the words. _What does he mean by being 'a half'?_ "Nakira?" He asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention Naki is just a nickname that everyone calls her. It means first girl, in African, which she is because she's the first girl Tia Ra gave birth to."

"So, Tia Ra has sixteen boys and _how_ many girls?"

Arc responded with a soft smile, "Just two girls." Suddenly, his expression changed to one of slyness and amusement, "One of them is the same age as you. Maybe she can be your special someone? Just wait till the two of you get older and-"

The snow leopard cut him off before he could continue. "Let's not change the subject!" The truth is that he didn't want to think about having to grow up once again in order to have a normal love life. Also, it felt weird to be matched with a four year old girl.

The lion continued talking about his secret crush on Nakira. "I don't think that between her and me that we'll ever be considered, let alone _be_, an item."

Tai Lung wanted to help his fellow feline out, but he, like Arc, knew nothing about women. "Maybe, next time you see her, you just need to start breaking the ice. If you think about it, the fact that she likes you as a friend means that there must be something already there."

Arc's ears perked up and he was again all smiles hearing that. "You're right! Maybe there can be a 'me and her' after all!" He was so excited that he began pumping the lever so rapidly that the handcar's speed increased up to the point where Tai had to hold on to the lion to keep himself on the cart itself.

"_Arc, slow down!_" Tai Lung yelled.

"Whoops, sorry!" Arc grabbed a lever by the side of the handcar and pulled it back making sparks fly from the wheels as the breaks tried to slow down the speeding handcar. Suddenly, it came to a stop, which made Tai Lung be propelled forward. He flew ten yards away before finally hitting the ground.

"I give you a ten for length but a two for the landing." Arc said, being a smartass.

Struggling to get up so he could kick the lion's ass for his funny comment, Tai Lung first checked his body for any sign of injury but he found none. However, his clothes were dirty and his pants were ripped open on the knee area.

Arc came to his side, looking a bit worried, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm fine!" Tai Lung snapped stubbornly, too proud as always.

The lion, after hearing that his pal was okay, grabbed and carried him to the handcar, not forgetting about the torch, which went flying along with the cub. Despite hearing the cub yelling insults at him for treating him like a baby, Arc wanted to help him saying 'when someone cares for another they never have to struggle in life because their loved ones are there to help'.

To that, Tai Lung said nothing. He just sat there, on the handcar, this time in the front, his back facing the lion, quiet. It's been so long since someone had shown him this much compassion. But, Tai Lung doesn't know how to react to kindness since it's basically something that doesn't exist in his life.

Arc started pushing up and down the lever, making the wheels move forward. He didn't wanted the cub to stay gloomy for what just happened. "Tai."

He waited for the snow leopard to respond, "Yeah."

"Are you curious about anything else?"

He was curious. He was curious about many things. It's not everyday you wake up in another world, although that happened yesterday.

He turned his head around and asked, "How did Frankie got that godsforsaken curse of hers?"

Arc turned his head, still pumping the lever, and answered him, "No one knows. Not even her. At least, that's what she has told me. And for the record, her curse must remain a secret." There was a pause and then he added, "Anything else that you might be interested in knowing?"

"Is Zoi really that hysterical about everything?" This question, he said more as a joke.

The bigger cat looked at him for a couple of seconds, then answered, "I have too much respect for Zoi to even insult her. Everything she does, she does for her son's wellbeing. She will do just about anything, just for him. Even selling her own soul." There was a pause, "Besides, she is the last person in this world I would _ever_ want to anger."

To that, Tai Lung raised an eyebrow, "How dangerous can she be? Does she know kung fu?"

Arc answered him, "No, she doesn't. Let's just say she can destroy your life if she wanted to, just like that. She has done it many times to people she claims that they deserved it. She even once went against this ass, Master Shifu," Hearing his former master's name, Tai Lung jumped a little but otherwise staid still, "That son of a bitch dared to talk about her mothering skills after what he did to his own children. People say she could have killed him but, instead, she humiliated him so much that he fears her now."

His eyes were so wide; Tai Lung didn't even blink after hearing that. "Does she hate Shifu? Do _you_ hate Shifu?"

"She hates him more than anyone else she had ever hated, especially after she heard of the news that the Dragon Warrior killed this guy named Tai Lung, and Shifu couldn't be happier that his own son was dead. You heard me! He couldn't be happier to know that his son is dead. Zoi was so infuriated that she wanted to make him suffer. A father being happy because his child was murdered because of him… that asshole doesn't deserve death, it's too good for him."

By the tone of Arc's voice and his choice of words, the snow leopard could have sworn there was hatred in them.

"Hate is a strong word. I don't know, I kind of do hate him." Arc finally responded his question with a flat tone.

He avoided eye contact with the lion and asked, "Don't you know who Tai Lung is?"

There was sadness in Arc's eyes, "Of course I do. Everyone makes mistakes Tai, but Shifu never bothered to help Tai Lung when he needed it the most, which could have made him see the error of his ways. That is why Shifu is so hated throughout The Underground because he could have saved him, give him another chance, but he chose to abandon him."

There was silence between them for awhile, nothing more than the squeaking noise the wheels and lever made. The snow leopard couldn't help but think of what the lion just said about Shifu being hated. Maybe not everyone is against him?

Then Arc added, "That is why there is The Underground, for those who have no place else to go, _have_ a second chance. No questions asked."

Again, there was silence.

Another question popped in Tai Lung's head: _Has Arc ever done anything as horrible as I did, twenty years ago?_

He decided to ignore his own question. Frankly, he didn't believe the lion would ever hurt anyone, besides in self-defense. But, he did wanted to know more about him.

"Arc," The lion turned his attention to the snow leopard, there was a pause, and then the cub spoke, "thanks, for not abandoning me!" He said it with a small smile on his face, which made the archeologist smile as well.

As the handcar kept going forward, the closer they got to Dynophyta's Pillar and their destination, even though the hall seemed to go on forever with its darkness being chased away by the light of the torch in the cub's paws.

Tai Lung sat next to the lion with a smirk on his face. "Arc, can I ask you another question?"

"Go right ahead!"

"What exactly did Zoi do to humiliate Shifu so much?"

Arc's lips quirked a smirk as he chuckled under his breath.

* * *

There was no mistake, feeling as happy as she had ever been in her life, getting the best feedback and reviews from her customers. Frankie French Fry was excelling today. If it wasn't in her dishes, it was her magic tricks, but mostly it was her meals.

Truly she had never felt this good or had such an amazing dinner service. It was all because of her mood, having Lan Se, her secret crush, beside her all day long had been the best experience of her life. Everything she cooked ended up tasting exactly how she felt, absolutely wonderful.

Specially since the effect of her Red Rose Soup gave the deliveryman such an intense heat the he had to take his shirt off, revealing his slender but muscular pectorals, his well endowed abdominals and his long, strong, muscular, and yet slender arms. Frankie couldn't stop drooling over him or catching glimpse of him as he waited for a sign of two young felines. On the meantime, she wanted to keep staring at the feline-candy in her restaurant.

When she did took a peek at him she saw him talking to Tia Ra, back from her errands. The two of them seemed to be enjoying a laugh or two. That is because they have known each other as well for a long time. Tia trusted no one else, to deliver her designs to their destinations, other than Lan Se.

The lioness was wearing a sleeveless, white tank top, long, blue pants and red high heels.

Zoi had gone off to buy more paper and ink hours ago.

Being a bit of a stalker, and a bit of an obsessed psychopath, Frankie just couldn't stop herself from interrupting their conversation by offering fresh out of the oven dumplings served on a tray.

"Dumplings anyone?"

"Frankie, I've already helped myself to most everything on the menu already. One more bite and I think I'll burst!" Lan Se said it playfully but truthful at the same time.

Tia Ra reached for the tray, "I'll take one. I haven't eaten in hours." She took one bite and her taste buds exploded with euphoric, very orgasmic, pleasure. The only thing she could do was widen her eyes and let the amazing sensation last while it did.

All that ran through her mid was her husband, both of them all alone, holding her, caressing her body, pressing her against his strong and powerful body, feeling the hairs of his dark mane brush against her face as the wind made it dance, looking at his passionate dark eyes. She felt as if he was undressing her with his strong hands. It felt like he was pressing his muzzle against her neck, making her shiver with pleasure as his hot breath caressed her skin. Then he nibbled her in that same spot, giving her a pleasurable 'love bite'.

Back in reality, the two other mammals watching the lioness wondered what exactly was on her mind until Tia opened her eyes, "My goodness, this is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth!"

The deliveryman had a huge grin on his face and with good reason; Tia Ra, hot ass Tia Ra, was breathing heavily, massaging her arms and, above all, ended up massaging and caressing her breasts, squeezing them in the process. He was turned on watching the 'dinner with a show'.

"_Frankine_, girl, you have outdone yourself!" The lioness exclaimed as she took another bite of the dumpling in her paws. This made her experience the same orgasmic pleasure a few seconds ago.

"Indeed!" Lan Se agreed with her. "I don't know how you do it but every time your meals get better and better. What's your secret?"

The rabbit leaned forward and whispered, "The secret ingredient… _is love!_"

The cheetah snorted, "That sounds like something my mother, or grandmother, would say!" She had to chuckle to that, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

Both chef and deliveryman turned their attention to Tia Ra as she was moaning softly but it kept getting louder. What they saw was by far the most scandalous and hottest (this is Lan Se thinking) thing they have ever seen. The lioness had taken her tank top off and had placed her graceful paws on her breasts, eyes closed, her face expressed such an intense happiness that neither Frankie nor Lan Se wanted to snap her out of it, specially Lan Se.

The rabbit didn't thought twice of doing so when she saw the cheetah eyeing Tia too much. Frankie knew that when it came down to looks, Tia Ra was a knockout; her crush wouldn't even pay attention to her as long as there was strong competition around. She slapped the female feline in the face, snapping her out of her sweet dreams.

She wasn't snapping out of this euphoric trance. If Frankie wanted to wake Tia she would need someone with immense strength to make her feel at least a prick.

She called one of her waiters to take the giggling cat anywhere where other customers would not be able to see her.

Once Tia Ra was carried away by _three_ waiters, draped under a blanket, Frankie told the deliveryman to stop drooling over at the site of what he had just witnessed.

"I'm sorry for my moment of weakness, Frankie. That was rather… unexpected."

"Whatever, you want something else to eat?"

"No, thank you! What I want to know is if there has been any word of Arc or Tai?"

Her ears sagged as she realized that the two young cats haven't returned, "No, now that you mention it. They should have been back by now. At least I cooked the salmon Arc caught yesterday, so they must not be hungry... for now."

Starting to feel worried, not because of the job request he accepted, Lan Se got up from his seat. "I'm going to look for them. Zoi mentioned they went to the no name forest."

This was disheartening, Lan Se was leaving. Even more disheartening, he put on his shirt _and_ he was leaving.

As much as she wanted the cat of her dreams to stay put, she knew that there were more important things, like the welfare of the abandoned cub she met yesterday. Arc is old enough, he can take care of himself.

But what truly worried her was the fact that Tai was under the supervision of Arc, he may be a good person but his a bit off the deep end when it comes to being stable.

Before she knew it, the deliveryman was gone. She wasn't as sad because he was coming back to inform her about the whereabouts of the two cats.

Now she could pay attention to the other problem: the lioness taking all of her clothes off. When she took a look around her she noticed all of her customers were doing similar things. Some were moaning softly, others were caressing their bodies and a few were fanning themselves, despite the cool temperature of the day, all they felt was the heat that she felt whenever she thought of the delicious looking cheetah.

"Frankie, what is going on here?"

The rabbit looked to her side and saw Zoi looking rather confused and a bit uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" The rabbit asked.

The reporter took a seat next to the chef, "On my way here I found several citizens having sexual intercourse in public: they were doing it on the doorsteps, the bridges, the rope ladders, the alleys, even standing up. While others were able to make it to a bed since I could hear their loud screams and moans of pleasure. I ran into a rhesus monkey, who had his lover at hand, both of them had eaten here a few minutes ago and needed a place to sedate the heat they felt. I asked him what was happening and he said that his friends told him of the orgasmic feeling the food from this restaurant causes." There was a pause, "And I saw three of your waiters carrying a topless Tia Ra to the kitchen."

Her eyes popped wide, not that Zoi saw Tia Ra acting weird but because of what her food was doing to people. This had never happened before. It pleased her customers but it didn't cause them to have a party in their pants. _Wait, did Lan Se went through the same thing today when he ate my food?_

He had complained earlier about being too hot and asked for a glass of water, it didn't help so he ended up taking his shirt off. But did he felt an orgasm?

"Frankie, are you listening to me?" Zoi broke her thoughts. "If I'm not mistaken, _your_ food has turned the whole village into an orgy. Think of the children!"

"It can't be that bad!" Frankie said as she rolled her eyes.

"I just saw an elephant, a horse, a pig and a bull pinning a vixen against a wall while they had their way with her… _at the same time_. Worst of all, that woman just kept asking and yelling for more men to join in."

_Whoa! That can't be right. Love is a good emotion, there's nothing bad about it. _Frankie's head was running with many thoughts but she chose to ignore them. As long as people were complacent with her food and it brought no harm to their health.

"Zoi, you know about my secret, so does Tia, Arc and now Tai." The raccoon was about to protest but Frankie beat her to it, "Arc told him."

The reporter's expression changed to one of distress to one of sympathy, "Listen, I know how you feel, expressing yourself through food is a wonderful thing… but don't overdo it." She got up and embraced the rabbit. "Whatever you were feeling that was so strong, try to express it in another way that will not harm anyone."

Zoi knew that she was ordering her friend to stop being herself and not to enjoy something she loved to do at its fullest. It pained her to do it but it _was_ for her own good.

Someone sat next to the two female friends. It was Tia Ra looking quite pleased, and with her shirt on.

Frankie wanted to know if the ex-supermodel was alright, only to get the answer without asking the lioness.

"I feel bitching!" Tia Ra exclaimed as if she had just had sex with someone.

That statement made Zoi think that maybe she did had sex with someone, "Tia what did you do?"

The designer looked at Frankie and said, without a care, "Sorry, I needed to sedate my hunger so I used one of your wooden spoons… and then a big carrot. Nothing in there could compare to my husband, but it did the job, the long wooden utensil in the pantry that is."

To that Frankie raised an eyebrow, "Tia, I do not keep my cooking utensils in the pantry. I think you are talking about a _broom_ in the _broom closet_."

"I couldn't tell the difference, all I could see was my husband making love to me." Having said that, Tia Ra looked around and noticed that the deliveryman was gone. "Speaking of hunks, where is Lan Se at?"

Frankie was the one to answer, "He went looking for Tai and Arc. I hope they're alright!"

Zoi then added, "I'm worried mostly about Tai, an emotionally scarred child, alone with Arc, of all people. What the heck were we thinking?"

Tia reassured her, "Zoi, it's alright, we'll wait for Lan Se, he can find anyone, I don't know how but he does it."

It seemed to work, Zoi sighed with relief knowing that a professional was on the job.

The three women sat there and waited for Lan Se or for any sign of the two, believed to be lost, cats.

* * *

Still laughing at the thought of Shifu's extreme humiliation courtesy of Zoi Zenigata, the two felines had reached the end of the tunnel.

Tai Lung had learned so many things, along the way, about the people he met the other day. Arc had told him the reason why Frankie only wears short, white bridal gowns. The rabbit had made a deal with Tia Ra, the designer would make her beautiful clothes and since she _is_ a celebrity, people will notice her attire and want to buy them. Frankie prefers short dresses to show off her legs and white because as a chef, she has to honor the tradition of gourmet chefs and wear white while under duty. It explains a lot. For a second there, Tai Lung could have sworn she was this crazy, desperate, marriage addicted freak who wants someone, anyone, to love her and never leave her side.

He also learned that Tia Ra had such an amazing muscle power that a blast from a cannon ball would only knock her down, nothing else, which explained how she didn't even flinch when he kicked her last night. Maybe he was still as strong as his adult form?

As impressive as Tia Ra was Tai Lung found Zoi being even more interesting. Not just because she humiliated Shifu in a way that he would never believe possible but because he can relate to her and everything she has suffered in her life. She was abandoned and left for dead, not by her parents, by her lover after he had impregnated her. She raised her child all by herself. She even made a vow to punish those who she thinks deserve to be thought a lesson.

Those lessons could be thought in two ways: you either see the error you committed or suffer the consequences.

His former master was at the mercy of a reporter and with what he was told by Arc, she could have killed him easily and no one would know a thing. But she didn't, humiliation at a grand scale was enough to quench her anger.

Now the two felines were ascending through a series of stairways, once they reached the end of one another started and it kept going and going. Luckily most of the ascending part was done while riding the handcar. When they were nearing Dynophyta's Pillar, the road was elevating higher and higher for every inch they passed.

What truly was weird was when they reached the end of the rails and of the long pathway, there was the second handcar on the second pair of rails. But this one seemed to be brand new or it has been taken care of by someone.

In other words, Tai and Arc weren't the first people in hundreds of years to enter the temple. Or maybe one handcar was built better than the other.

Leaving the unsolved questions behind and kept on going forward. Tai Lung was anxious to know where these tunnels lead.

"Not much farther, Snow Cub!"

"I just wish I knew where we are going?"

"My years studying the geography of both China and The Underground, I have been able to deduce where these stairs will lead us to."

"Then, can you at least tell me where are we going?"

"I already told you… _it's a surprise!_"

The snow leopard grumbled and muttered a few curses. Arc's secrecy was starting to annoy him.

"We've made it!" Arc said as he himself was overtaken with excitement. Tai Lung wasn't that far away with the way he bounced as he heard the lion say what he has been waiting for hours.

There in front of them was a large wooden door, at the end of a hall.

Without hesitation, Arc ran towards the door and landed a kick on it, opening the gate to the surface.

What was beyond that door was a basement, which looked like no one had cleaned in years.

Both, not caring about the cellar, went up another stairway only to find another door. They opened it and it lead to the inside of a house, an old abandoned house.

Tai Lung saw a window and took a peek to take a breath of fresh air. He didn't, not when he stood frozen at what he saw outside.

"We're in the Valley of Peace!" He said incredulously, both eyes wide.

Arc smiled and looked quite happy, "Yes, you're back home. Surprise!"

* * *

A/N: First I want to say that Frankie's ability to cook food that is edible and that is dangerous depending on her emotions is based on the main character of the novel '_Como Agua para Chocolate_' by Laura Esquivel. Also, the soup involving red rose petals is based on a recipe of that novel. Arc's ability to sense the ground, being barefooted, and doing it better in the dark, is based on the character Toph of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. Whoever does not know that 'Ra, ra, ah, ah, ah, roma, roma-ma, Gaga, ooh, la, la, want your bad romance' are lyrics of Lady Gaga's _'Bad Romance'_, then there is something wrong with you. The name of the move that Tai Lung discovered is something I made up but I used the laws of thermodynamics as a reference on the inscription of the move: transferring energy and needing entropy. Dynophyta is the name of the phylum where dinoflagellates belong, I ran out of ideas to name that pillar.

I hope you enjoyed the hookups in this chapter. Next time we meet I will catch up with the residents of the Valley of Peace and what happens when Arc steps foot in it. Will Tai Lung's identity be revealed?

Please, read and review. Happy Holidays (or whatever you celebrate), everyone!


	5. How's the Weather up There?

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! This chapter will tell what has been going on with the residents of the Valley of Peace, or the characters of the movie that matter. Sorry, if this chapter is too short, I was going through many writer's block moments.

Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns Kung Fu Panda. I own The Underground.

Chapter 5: How's the Weather up There?

* * *

The gong rang hours ago.

It meant he was late, again. Training had begun and he was missing it. It will be difficult for him to get used to waking up on time but today he blew it, it was noon.

Po ran straight to the kitchen hoping that if he cooked an amazing supper Master Shifu would let it slide. Especially after the red panda achieved the peace he had craved for so long.

"Good _morning_, Po!"

"Gahh" He yelped and almost dropped a pot on the floor. He turned around and saw Mantis and Viper. What were they doing there, shouldn't they be training? But he wasn't going to ask that since he wasn't the one to talk about following his master's rules (the ones about proper hygiene and waking up in time).

"Hi guys, what did I miss today, so far?"

"Well, where should we start?" Mantis said as he tapped his pincers against his chin. "Have you heard about the ghost child appearances a few years ago?"

To that Po looked confused and interested at the same time. "Yes."

"He's back!" Before Po could explode in a ton of questions in excitement, Mantis continued, "Except this time he is walking among us. A large amount of the villagers have seen him walking around the market place with another boy but this one was of a different species."

"Whoa! Really? I've heard the stories from customers when I was handing out orders at my dad's restaurant."

Viper felt like she could explode not telling anyone about what she witnesses very early that same day down in the valley, so she finally told the panda all about it. "If you think that's interesting you should know of the two horses that were using a wooden plank balanced on top of a rock as a seesaw. They looked like idiots, big, childish idiots!"

Apparently, Po missed out on a lot of things that day. "What else happened today?"

"A _lot_!" Mantis said as he spread his pincers to the air "Such as watching Monkey get chased by a lady because she thought he was peeking at her chest, which, now that I mention it, I think he was."

At that Po snickered. "You should've woke me up this morning. From what you've told me, today is one of those days you shouldn't sleep in." There was a pause. "That an' because I don't wanna miss out on kung fu training."

Mantis and Viper both looked at each other and then gave the panda a look that said 'sorry' written all over their faces. Viper was the one who spoke.

"I'm sorry, we forgot to tell you." Her face was sympathetic and begging at the same time.

Of course, Po only grew interested in what they knew that he didn't. "Tell me what?"

"That Master Shifu gave us the day off." She said a bit sheepishly.

"Really? Then that means I didn't miss out on any lesson today." He was relieved to know his master hadn't thought anything new without him there.

Knowing Po wasn't informed about the palace's repair from Tai Lung's fight with Shifu. "Well, all of the repair work to the palace is done. Master Shifu was so content about it, he took us all out for breakfast this morning, and you were still asleep."

"Aw, where did he take you guys?" He actually looked sad about not being there with his fellow kung fu warriors and master.

"Your father's restaurant." Viper answered.

Being reminded of the noodle shop made the panda remember the promise he made to the goose the other day. "Uh-oh"

"What is it?" The serpent asked.

"I made a promise to…" He stopped himself, remembering exactly what he had promised.

However, the insect finished the sentence for him. "You promised your father you would help him with the restaurant today."

"Yeah, my dad asked me yesterday to help him with the shop today. Sometimes it ticks me off, I wanna help him but I'd rather stay here and learn kung fu. I wish I could just choose between the two but I know I would always pick…" He immediately posed in a crane stance, "_…kung fu!_"

"So, that means you're not going to help him today?" The reptilian said with an arched brow.

"Nah, I'd rather spent time with you guys. Besides, my dad loves making noodles, he won't miss me."

* * *

An oddly dressed panther, wearing a long sleeved chainmail, iron plates/armor on his right shoulder and another on his left elbow, his entire right hand was also covered by armor, which seemed to go all the way up to his shoulder or elbow if the chainmail sleeves didn't cover them, at least he was warring normal looking pants, stood in front of the counter waiting for his bowl of Secret Ingredient soup.

By the way he dresses, he must be a guard of some sort.

He looked around the restaurant and saw that he was the only customer there. Although he didn't mind, he wanted to eat his meal at that precise moment.

"Order's up!" A goose on the other side of the counter said.

The stranger turned around and saw a bowl of noodles on the counter, and the goose who had taken his order behind the counter.

The customer looked at the bowl with hunger in his stare, and then at the goose, "Thank you, we've been hearing great thing about this place. I thought I should give it a try." His voice had a strong accent complementing his deep tone.

_We've been waiting?_ The goose took a look around to see if there was someone else in the restaurant but there was no one else there. "It's always a pleasure to serve a hungry customer!"The bird responded with a smile.

The panther's eyes popped open as soon as he took a sip of the broth. "You said this soup was special. If by secret ingredient you mean water, then there is nothing superb about this soup." He whispered, to himself, in a voice without the heavy accent.

Mr. Ping wasn't able to hear clearly the panther's muttering but he did hear the cat mention the soup. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong with your order."

"Not at all!" The armored feline answered, with his accent.

"What do you mean nothing is wrong?" Then, all of a sudden, the panther started muttering to himself with an unaccented voice. "We paid extra for this Secret Ingredient soup, and there is nothing special about it! The goose is ripping us off!"

Leaning forward to see if there was someone else there, someone shorter than the counter, Mr. Ping saw no one just the panther arguing with himself. He thought he understood what the cat was doing: either being hard on himself for something he did or reconsidering saying something someone else might find offensive. The goose sometimes acted just like the panther in front of him. Whenever he goofed up or things didn't turn out the way he planned that is exactly how he reacts. However, he was the only one in the shop that means the panther must be fighting the urge to say something offensive or hurtful.

_Just as long there is nothing wrong with the soup everything is fine!_

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Mr. Ping asked trying to start a conversation with the stranger and only customer of the day. "Would you like to sit down and have a drink?" He said as he waved at a nearby table.

"No, thank you." The panther answered with an unaccented voice.

He heard it again, the goose thought his mind was playing tricks on him or his hearing, just like his mind, has finally caught up to his age.

"Hey, do you know where I can find the Dragon Warrior? Everyone in the valley is talking about him. I heard he works here." The panther said with curiosity.

The goose smiled "He sure does! He's my son!"

"He is?" Then his voice changed to its deep tone with the accent, angrily, "_You said he was a panda!_"

"Someone told me he _is_ a panda!" The panther snapped at himself with his unaccented voice.

The noodle maker cleared his throat to get the cat's attention, "Well, he _is_ a panda and he _is_ my son."

The panther's expression turned to one of smugness and victory. The he told himself in his unaccented voice, with as much smugness as possible, "Told you!"

The kind bird raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "What would you like to know about my son?"

The stranger scratched the top of his head. "Hmm, what's he like?"

To that Mr. Ping smiles proudly, "He is such a good boy, the best son a father could ever ask for." There was a brief pause of silence then the goose sighed heavily and said in a quieter voice with his face expressing a bit of disappointment, "If only he was interested in the family business."

"Oh, he doesn't want to be a chef." The panther asked with curiosity in his tone.

He avoided eye contact with the feline, then said firmly, "I want him to be happy… but what will happen to my noodle shop once I'm gone? Surely, Po won't have time to run the restaurant now that he's a kung fu warrior."

Despite him being really odd, the armored cat tried to look as encouraging as possible, "Look on the bright side, him being a famous warrior makes him a hit with the ladies. I can see grandchildren in your future!"

The goose smiled at that thought. "Tell me about yourself. You're not from here, are you?"

"You are right, I am not from here. I'm from... somewhere… else. Not here."

Mr. Ping gave him an odd look without him looking too nosy, "How is it that you…"

With the Thread of Hope out of order no traveler could enter the Valley of Peace.

"I've been in this valley for over two years now. That _is_ what you wanted to know right?"

Nodding, he answered, "Yes, but this is the first time I have seen you. Where were you staying at for all that time?"

The panther slammed both fists on the counter and leaned forward menacingly and yelled in an animalistic way, but it was his accented deep voice that came out, "That is highly personal! None of your business, you old geezer!"

Unsurprisingly, poor Mr. Ping stepped back a few steps until his back touched the wall behind him, then he gulped as he stared at the feline's menacing eyes, "I-I'm sorry!"

However, the panther was reprimanding himself with his unaccented voice, "Don't do that. See. You scared him." Then his accented deep voice defended itself.

"It is not my fault, he was getting too nosy!"

He then lowered his head and said with all sincerity, "I am very sorry about that, my good sir. If you don't mind I think I'll have my food to go."

Before leaving he paid for his meal by slamming his paws on the counter to leave the goose what he owned him for the soup and a tip, which made the poor old goose to flinch, "A little something for you worries."

"Thank you, come again!" _I think._

The dark cat took his bowl and walked away from the counter and just as he was almost to the door; Mr. Ping stopped him before the armored man exited the shop. "I didn't even introduce myself, I'm Ping."

"My name, kind sir, is Xovius." He said it with his deep, accented voice.

And with that he parted with the bowl in one paw and his tail lashing back and forward, displaying joy.

He's had many strange customers before but none like that panther. There was something on his mind, and as soon as he knew the cat was out of earshot, and out of his shop, he said with a sigh of relief. "What a strange man."

* * *

The sun was starting to descend.

All of the members of the Furious Five gathered in the kitchen with the Dragon Warrior after a day filled with excitement and surprises.

They were all sitting there sharing a laugh, having some tea, sampling Po's food and just plain goofing off.

The Furious Five had spent the entirety of the day sharing stories, telling jokes or some, Tigress, simply decided to lay back and listen to the others.

Crane told them about how women ambushed him because, him being such a well mannered, quiet, polite person, that and the fact someone heard him talking about his feelings, made him an automatic ladies man.

Monkey explained what happened to him after the "busty lady" caught him by grabbing hold of his tail. He left out many of the details but he did say how many stitches it took to seal the wound.

Despite her usual mood, Tigress had a small smile on her face as she heard her friends' stories. She spent the majority of that day meditating, first in her room, then the Hall of Warriors and beneath the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

It was a fun, enjoyable evening, with no worries, or training, just filled with laughter.

That all ended when Master Shifu entered the room. From the look on the red panda's face he was going to send them on a mission.

"My students, you are needed in the valley. Bandits have been spotted and they have murdered civilians. Go down there and put a stop to them."

Looks like the day full of surprises had one more stored for them.

"Yes master." All of his students said at the same time while they bowed and placed a fist in their palm (Viper not having any limbs had to use the tip of her body as a fist, though, that still left a palm to place it in).

And off they went, wasting not even a second, to face the dangers that threatened the valley. Racing down the steps of the Jade Mountain each warrior contemplated on the dangers they were going to face and how they would stop them.

Little did they know that, by the time they got there, the problem was already solved by someone else.

* * *

A/N: Not much to say since not much happened in this chapter. I originally wasn't going to make/include this chapter but I had a change of heart. Who is the panther and what's up with him? And who solved the bandit problem?

Next chapter will be all about Arc and Tai's visit to the valley.


	6. The Patient One

Now, on to Arc and Tai's visit to the Valley of Peace. Just so you know the next events occurred in the same day as the last chapter, except this is on the point of view of everyone's favorite snow leopard and lion. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Damn, DreamWorks just bought The Underground… just kidding I still own it and yes, they still own Kung Fu Panda.

Chapter 6: The Patient One

* * *

People were staring at them. Eyes following them every step they took. Most of the looks they got were ones of confusion. What were two strangers doing in the valley if the only way to reach it was still under repairs?

Who would have thought that there was an entrance to a subterranean world hidden inside an abandoned farm on the outskirts of the valley?

The stares became ones of shock and utter surprise, as the citizens, who kept staring at the two traveling felines, began muttering "he is real", "I thought it was just a story to scare tourists", "I saw him once with my own eyes", "the stories are true" or "he looks just as I remember".

Tai Lung thought that they were referring to Arc. Maybe he was famous? Or maybe he just stood out that much? The lion has a light brown color of fur, it can be mistaken easily for a light bronze (at least that's how it looks like when the light makes it gleam), and has black stripes on his brown mane (a darker shade than the rest of his fur), the same as the hairs at the tip of his tail, he has white spots beneath his eyebrows. Not to mention, the marking beneath his left eye. But when he noticed that the stares were all directed at him, and not at Arc, he gulped. _Damn,_ _they know who I am!_

He was about to make a run for it or fight anyone who came his way.

Then Arc whispered in the snow leopard's ear, "Hey Tai, are you listening to the crap they are saying? They think you're the ghost of the lonely boy."

_Ghost of who?_

A confused look entered the lion's face. "I at least expected someone to recognize you since you live here and all."

"What do you mean by they think I'm the ghost of some boy?" Tai Lung asked the other cat besides him. Arc just raised an eyebrow and answered, "You don't know or _haven't_ heard of the tales of the ghost sightings there have been here like five years ago?"

"No." The cub answered plain and simple.

"Wow! Really? _Well_ you are four years old; you weren't even born at the time. I guess once the ghost stopped appearing people stopped talking about him."

There was still something that didn't add up and Tai Lung wanted to know, "Then how come everyone is mistaking me for this ghost?"

"Well, now that you mention it, the descriptions I've heard of this lonely ghost boy matches you: golden eye color, about four years old and he's a snow leopard."

The cub's eyes widened and he started breathing harder as he stood still staring at his feet. _Could it-could it really be?_

He didn't know what to believe. _He's not dead… is he? _Hope entered him and it showed in his eyes, which were gleaming with tears. He didn't cry nor did he let Arc notice this turn of event.

The lion however kept explaining to the cub the story about the ghost. "From what I've heard, the lonely boy always seemed to be waiting for someone, always appearing on the same spot… that is… how he got his name… _the_ _Patient One_."

Tai Lung just took the information in, as he tried to put all of the pieces together. He needed to know more about the ghost.

Suddenly, Arc grabbed the snow leopard by the side of his head and pressed it against his and pointed towards a building, "Look, it's an antique store!"

"What's so special about a store that sells ancient crap that no one cares about anymore?"

Arc dragged Tai Lung inside the building, "Between these piles of "ancient crap" there could be something very special."

"So, why did you drag me in here?"

The lion placed his paws on the cub's shoulders, "I want to buy you something _special_."

Raising an eyebrow, Tai Lung said sarcastically, "What's next, are you going to make me strut down a catwalk?"

"No. Do you want to?"

"I was being sarcastic."

"_Come on_, you don't have to be ashamed of anything!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"That you liked having to strut down a runway and that you secretly want to do it again."

Tai Lung looked at the lion sternly and before he could make a reply, Arc beat him to the point.

"Ooh, I found them." While conversing with the cub the lion had searched the store for whatever he was looking for until he found it.

"You found what?" Tai Lung asked eagerly. Why didn't he try to hide his sudden eagerness? He had no clue.

Arc said nothing, he simply kept looking for something displayed on a table too high for the snow leopard to see. To his annoyance, Tai Lung had to wait for Arc to find whatever he was looking for.

"Arc, what about the ghost? Can you tell me more?" The lion still didn't respond him. So, Tai Lung decided to wander off and have a little alone time.

Walking down the street he couldn't help but look at the Jade Mountain and contemplate how he was going to have his revenge on those who had ruined his life.

That's when it hit him. No one knows who he is, they think he's dead, he just came up with a plan to get the vengeance that he craves. They took away everything from him, now he was going to do the same and worse.

He wanted to make Shifu suffer. This time he wanted to let him live just so he could witness and endure the snow leopard's vengeance. Tai Lung would treasure watching the man who is the cause of his entire suffering whimper and squirm in pain, sorrow and regret.

He wondered how he could use The Underground to his advantage since probably nobody knew of the secret entrance, or exit. He could make an easy get away.

Who would have thought that there was an entrance to a subterranean world inside an old farm on outskirts of the valley, far away from all of the other villagers and the Jade Mountain? The mountain itself was barely visible from the distance (Tai Lung's sharp eyesight was able to let him tell the difference, that and the fact that he recognized the Jade Palace on top of it).

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his stomach growling loudly. The salmon was tasty but it wasn't good enough to completely satisfy his hunger.

Then a delicious aroma whiffed through the wind. He followed the smell, wanting to see what produced it and where could he get some of it.

He kept going with his eyes closed, as he enjoyed the mouthwatering smell, until he bumped against someone and fell on the ground. About to yell at whoever was in his way, he stopped whatever words were going to leave his mouth and stared at the form of the panther, dressed in armor, who stood in his way holding a steaming bowl of noodles.

"We are sorry about that." The panther held his arm out towards the cub on the ground to help him up, "Here, let _us_ help you up."

_Us?_ Tai Lung asked himself as he looked around to see who the panther was referring to. But there was no one who seemed to be in the bigger feline's company.

The panther grabbed the cub's paw and pulled him to his feet. Then he ruffled the top of the child's head.

"Little boy, why do you have such nasty booboos on your head?" His voice sounded different this time, it had a deep accent.

"I'm fine!" The snow leopard huffed.

"Just to be sure," His voice changed to the first one, the one without the accent, "you can have my bowl of noodles. You look hungry and I would never forgive myself if I let a child starve on my watch."

The panther handed over the bowl to the cub.

Tai Lung not knowing what to say and feeling a bit touched by the panther's kindness simply said, "Uh, thanks, for helping me stand up and giving me food." Surprisingly, he said it smiling and didn't bother to hide it.

When the stranger saw the cub's smiling face, he too smiled, "You're quite welcome young one." The strange voice again.

And with that he started walking away. "Wait!" The snow leopard called out to the panther, who stopped in his tracks and turned around, "I didn't even get your name."

He smiled and answered with his unaccented voice, "My name, my dear child, is Alvar. What is yours?"

"I'm Tai." The cub answered slowly.

"It was our pleasure to meet you, Tai." Again with the accented, deep voice. With that he walked away and disappeared into a crowd of people.

_Geez, what a freak!_

So, this is what he has been reduced to, eating from other peoples' kindness or pity. He wasn't going to complain, in fact, he actually enjoyed not having to fight for everything.

Though, he had to admit, he was starting to care for Arc, and for the three ladies who had shown him compassion, even love.

Maybe, just maybe, being a child again isn't so bad. I mean a stranger just gave him food. So far they have given him clothing, food, a place to sleep and compassion. No one would have done that if he were an adult or if they knew he was actually Tai Lung.

He carried the bowl to the side of the street and sat down, back against the wall of a house, where he would not be bothered by anyone, and ate slowly as he gazed upon the villagers' daily routine.

After he finishes his meal, he was going to ask as many people as possible about the ghost appearances. If what Tai Lung believed was true? Then maybe _he_ wasn't the only one who survived. Then again, what if it was a ghost… or some prank? The thought of it saddened the snow leopard. If _he_ was still alive, then maybe he still had a chance to live a normal life.

But that opens up another question: If _he_ is alive, what happened to him?

The question itself opened other questions as well, such as: Who saw him? Where was he last seen? Where did he go? Why did he stop appearing?

Tai Lung knew what the ghost's reasons for being here in the Valley of Peace. All that mattered now was to find him, if he still lived that is. Because if one made it maybe more of _them_ were able to…

The more he thought about it, the more painful it felt. He was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

But before going person to person, asking about the ghost… he wanted to eat his bowl of noodles.

* * *

Arc looked around to see any sign of the snow leopard but found none.

"Tai, where are you?"

He walked out of the building and headed to the opposite direction the cub was.

"Tai, I'm sorry I didn't find anything good enough for you in there, but that is no reason for you to runoff."

He kept his eyes peeled for any sign of the cub. Maybe he went to his home, with his father?

The thought of it worried the archeologist deeply. Tai's father could harm him, if he was an abusive man as he suspected. In fact, one of the reasons why Arc wanted to bring his new friend to his home was to 'teach' the jerk a thing or two about treating children correctly.

The lion never intended to leave Tai in the care of a lowlife son of a bitch who abandons his own son in the middle of nowhere. What Arc wanted to do was to take custody of the cub, after the boy's father had learned his lesson from the lion.

Maybe Tai's father knew about The Underground and used the secret entrance they used to enter it and abandon the four year old boy in the forest, leaving him without clothing or food. Arc was going to make him pay for doing such a thing.

Arc's travels have allowed him to meet the most interesting people in the world, both on the surface and in The Underground. All of the friends and bonds he created along his travels were treasures to him, after all, Arc is an orphan, those people that he befriended are the closest thing to an actual family he ever had, specially the friends he crosses roads with many times, like: Zoi, Tia Ra and Frankie.

Everywhere he looked: up, down, to his sides, there was a different store, though most of the buildings were homes to villagers. It was just like how he remembered it.

Yes, Arc has been before inside the Valley of Peace back when he was ten years old, not by himself but with the company of four of his friends, children just like him. Those friends of his decided to put their unique abilities to help others. They all agreed that Arc's knowledge and skills in combat could come in handy. But the lion had to decline, as much as he would have liked it to join his friends he wanted to continue traveling, exploring and meet new people. They were saddened by the lion's decision but they still respected it and wished him good luck.

Though, he did much better going solo, he enjoyed the company. That was common of him, traveling or exploring along with people he knew and cared about.

Tai was no exception. He met the cub yesterday and it's like he already knows him, like they have met before.

When he first laid eyes on the unclothed cub he confused him with someone else, another snow leopard he once met and befriended years ago. What allowed him to tell the difference was that Tai is younger; his old friend must be at least as tall as Arc himself, if not taller.

Maybe it was him whom Arc kept confusing with Tai. He hasn't seen his friends ever since departing on his journeys, for all he knew he no longer remembered how his old friend looks like and is filling the blanks with the four year old.

Along with his thoughts, he came to a stop when he noticed a stand with the perfect gift for his new feline pal. It was precisely the kind of present he wanted to give the cub.

"Sir, how much is that worth?" Arc asked the salesman of the store, who is an elderly rabbit, as he pointed at the cub's future present.

"What, that? Why that is-"

"It doesn't matter, I'm taking it!"

"Excuse me?"

"_Fine_, have it your way!"

"What?"

Arc then reached inside his backpack, "Will this diamond cover it?" He said it as he pulled out the rock as big as an apple.

"_You damn right it will!_" The rabbit took the diamond from the lion's grasp and gave him the object he so much wanted. "Thank you, please _do_ come again!"

"He's going to love it, I just know it!" The lion said as he examined the object in his paws.

Arc placed Tai's gift inside his backpack and kept walking, looking for the small cat, completely being unaware of the flock of birds above him.

* * *

He ate the last noodle and slurped down the last drop of broth. That hit the spot. Now it was time to start asking questions. He was going to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Patient One.

He placed the empty bowl to his left, right on the far end of a wooden plank that was being balanced on top of a rock. He watched as the weight of the ceramic object tilted the long piece of wood down to the ground as the other end of it was lifted upward.

Tai Lung got up and walked to the other end and watched his surroundings, looking for any sign of a construction area or a house under repair. There needed to be at least someone, a carpenter, who would use the plank for something in order for it to be laying there on the ground. Or maybe it was just an unwanted object that was left there?

The sound of wings flapping became louder until he heard feet land on the ground behind him. He turned around and saw the last thing he expected to see, it wasn't that it was a gang of avian bandits inside the valley, it was how they looked like, what they were wearing and how they acted. But just as much as their appearance, their species was the strange factor about them.

It was a gang composed of eight flamingos wearing black tights. What made him come to the conclusion that they were bandits or posed danger was the fact that each bird was holding a short sword or a knife. Still, the sight of them made Tai Lung smirk as he looked at them with sympathy at how pathetic they all looked.

Besides the crotch of the birds being pressed against the skintight clothing making that area bulge out (they were wearing dance belts beneath their tights so it made their groins look bigger than proportion), and the sharp weapons they carried, how dangerous could a bunch of pink, scrawny looking and _pink_ pelicans be?

With a rapid swing of his sword, the gang leader sliced a bulky bull in half like cutting through paper. Then, giving a smug smirk at hearing the nearby villagers screaming after witnessing what he just committed, he ordered his men, his voice rough and deep, "Take all you can that is valuable. Kill whoever gets in your way and take flight as soon as you feel like you have plenty. We leave before the Furious Five get down here. Now, move your tail feathers!"

As soon as the leader finished speaking, all the other birds began to steal from stores, houses and nearby villagers, if they resisted they were killed on the spot.

Watching this Tai Lung didn't care what happened to the helpless people, he just cared about not being discovered by the flamingos or to get involved, so he tried to hide inside an alley.

But one of the birds stepped in front of him, he then started mocking the cub, "Aww, look at the little boy, he is lost. Are you looking for your mommy?"

Tai Lung grumbled and gripped his paws into fists at hearing the comments thrown at him.

The bandit looking at the cub's reaction, decided to go for it one more time, "What the matter? Afraid of the big, bad birdie? Are you going to cry for mommy's help?" The flamingo pointed his short sword at the snow leopard and gestured that he was going to stab the child. "What's the matter? Can't talk? Or are you just a stupid wittle _kitty_?"

That did it. Being called _that_ specific nickname pissed him off. Anger filled his body and he was going to let some steam out in the way he knows best. With a fast and swift movement, Tai Lung took hold of the flamingo's weapon and, yet with another fast and swift movement, he sliced the bird's head off with the sword he took from the bandit.

The decapitated body fell on the ground, legs still twitching, a large puddle of blood forming and expanding from the wound, his eyes blinked a few times, probably thinking what just happened, before they stopped forever, and Tai Lung stared at the sight of his own doing.

"Fernan, how much loot do you have so far?" The leader waited for a response. "_Fernan_, I asked you a-" He stopped himself as soon as he saw one of his men dead on the ground. His attention then turned to the snow leopard cub holding the murder weapon covered in and dripping blood. He called his men and they all rallied up next to him.

His henchmen arrived and gathered next to their leader and each began to ask questions "Yes, do we have to leave now?", "Are the Furious Five on their way?", "Can we still burn down a few houses?" and "Where's Fernan?"

The leader pointed to where their friend had met his demise. They all stared at the dead form of their comrade, the head was a few feet away from the body, then at the child responsible for his death.

"_You little brat_!" One of the flamingos yelled. "You're going to pay for this!" With that being said he lunged himself forward, aiming his sword straight for the cub's chest with murder written on his eyes.

The snow leopard simply leaned backwards and evaded the enraged bird's attack. He took advantage of that moment and sliced the bandit's right wing off.

As the bird screamed in agony the leader commanded his men to "rip the little bastard apart". The six remaining flamingos circled around the cub. Tai Lung gave a smug smirked at them and said in a mocking tone, "_Ladies_, don't get _xinyis_ in a bunch!" Then his voice turned serious and his eyes became menacing looking, "So just get the hell away from me and I won't have to kill you all."

All the birds gasped at the same time, not because of the death threat.

"Now he is insulting our gender _and_ our _dance belts_! _Show no mercy!_" The leader yelled and ordered. "For the record, these are all the rage in Europe." He said defiantly as he gestured his tights.

A few bystanders gathered nearby, watching what was going on but being careful not to get in the way of things, just in case.

They all watched as the snow leopard deflected every sword strike and in the process unarmed them, making their weapons soar through the air leaving them stuck in the of walls of houses. He took that opportunity to slash one of the flamingos across his chest and, thanks to his small stature, he sliced the legs off of two other bandits.

Another one of the birds was trying to pull his sword out of a wall. Tai Lung seeing that ran in that direction, used the speed and momentum to give the wall a powerful kick, like the one he gave to another wall in his fight with the panda, which made the wall fall and crumble, crushing the flamingo beneath the wreckage.

The gang leader's patience was running low. He withdrew one of his knives and threw it with all his might at the cub's backside.

It happened so fast that no one saw it coming…the knife was propelled with so much power it went straight for the child with immense speed. But, Tai Lung heard the sharp, faint, whistling sound the knife made. By turning around really fast he used the sword in his grasp to deflect the weapon, sending it flying in another direction, which ended up being plunged in the other flamingo's forehead.

The leader of the bandits, with his beak hanging open, just stared at his fallen comrades who were wincing and crying in agony, if not it's because they're dead. He then took a peek at the snow leopard…

Tai Lung took a step forward towards the last flamingo.

The bird gulped as his pupils constricted while sweat trickled down his face. It was either stay and die by the paws of a snow leopard cub (or by the Furious Five) or…

The coward turned and flew away as fast as he could, not even daring to look back neither at the cub nor at his fallen comrades.

Tai Lung snorted at the bird's retreat. _They weren't even worth my time._

The villagers who saw the whole thing go down cheered and applauded the snow leopard.

Seeing this, he didn't know how to react. It's been so long since someone cheered for him. So he just gave a shy smile.

A pig who was also grateful for the cub's deed wanted to thank him personally, shake his paw, pat his shoulder or ruffle the top of the boy's head. He walk towards the child but before he reached him the porcine tripped and landed on the elevated end of the wooden plank, launching the bowl into the air and landing on the snow leopard's head, shattering in the process.

He didn't knew what happened and he won't know till later because seconds after the bowl made contact with his cranium, Tai Lung fell on the ground unconscious.

The villagers gathered around him, checking if he was alright, still breathing or any other vital sign.

"We arrived as soon as we could." A voice was heard from behind the group of people. It was the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior.

The crowd cleared the scene and showed and explained what happened.

After contemplating everything the villagers told them and watching the carnage left there, Po picked up the snow leopard carefully, "Don't worry little guy, will find your father." He said tenderly to sleeping child, even though, the sight of the dismembered bodies and bloody corpses made him feel sick to his stomach.

Tigress took a closer look at the boy, she noticed the wounds on his forehead and on the back of his head, "I wonder how he got those wounds? The villagers say the bandits never laid a single blow on him."

"Let's take him to the palace and treat his wounds." This came from Crane. "When he wakes up he can tell us everything we need to know, everything that occurred. Besides, we can't just leave him here!"

Saying that, Mantis and Viper accompanied Po back to the Jade Palace with the unconscious cub cradled in the Dragon Warrior's arms.

* * *

What was all the commotion about? He heard screaming, swords clanging against each other, walls crumbling down and then cheering and applauding.

He heard someone mention that bandits, wearing what appeared to be lingerie, were attacking the citizens. But he also heard someone else say that a snow leopard cub fought against them. Much to his fear, Arc ran as fast as he could, on all fours, to where the big crowd of people was standing.

He noticed and recognized a few members of the Furious Five helping cleaning or picking up crumbles of concrete from the collapsed wall.

Pushing through the walls of citizens, he reached the center of attention, which was a horrific sight of dead bodies and mutilated/dismembered flamingos, either being put inside body bags or being taken into custody (to also get proper treatment) by the valley's guards.

That was not what made him feel his heart stopped, it was that there was no sign of Tai anywhere. "Someone told me there was a snow leopard fighting thong wearing bandits. Where is he?" He asked an old woman next to him.

"The poor dear suffered a head injury." The old lady responded sweetly. "The Dragon Warrior was taking him to his father, and then they went up those steps to the Jade Palace." She said the last sentence pointing to the thousand steps that lead to the palace.

His eyes widened, his mouth moving soundlessly, he couldn't believe it. "They're taking him… to his father!" He finally said something aloud, to himself, disbelieving what had been told to him.

Not just because of the kind of person the boy's father is but because of _who_ he is; hearing the woman's words, Arc reached a conclusion that made him feel anger, disbelief and most of all worry for his new friend. Tai was sent back to be raised once again by his evil father better known as Shifu.

_That_ is what he couldn't believe. That awful man who mistreated and abandoned his son was Master Shifu all along. _Why doesn't that surprise me?_

How could people allow him to adopt more children when he has proven to be a terrible father? Arc wasn't going to let his friend in the grasps of a monster. He was determined to rescue Tai and fight anyone who tried to stop him from that evil man. But, he knew he couldn't do it alone since the Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior and Master Shifu himself would stand in his way or fight him if they have to, and knowing the red panda to be a mean person, that is precisely what will happen.

"I'm going to need backup!" He said determined, eyes blazing, as he stared at the Jade Palace on top of the mountain. He will rescue Tai, but not alone.

With that he ran straight for the abandoned house containing the entrance to The Underground. "Don't worry, Snow Cub, I'll save you!"

He smirked as he came up with the plan to rescue the snow leopard and _who_ will help him to achieve it. He noticed the sun setting, disappearing from view over the horizon, he knew time was against him but he will not let Shifu harm his new friend ever again.

He was going to need the help of a specialized fighting force in order to do that, and he knew just the one.

* * *

A/N: I actually wrote this chapter way before I even started on chapter 5, that's why there was a hold up. More questions have opened as the plot expands. Who is the Patient One and how is he connected to Tai Lung? It will be revealed soon enough. If you don't know what a dance belt is I'll let you know it's not a belt, it's something else. Why did I chose flamingos wearing tights?... I have no clue, I just felt like it. Xinyi is the name of a type of ancient Chinese female underwear. Now you can see that seesaws are dangerous. Arc misinterpretation of the old lady's words will be the cause of an event I've been waiting for, those of you who voted on the poll I opened a few weeks ago must already know who the "specialized fighting force" is. So make sure not to miss it.

Next chapter Tai Lung wakes up in enemy territory. What is going to happen when Shifu sees the cub? Will he recognize him? Will his cover be blown? Will Arc arrive with backup too late? Make no mistake, there will be a kickass fight when the time comes, and that will be pretty soon. So tune in and find out what happens next.


	7. Field of Flowers

Here you go. A nice long update. This chapter contains strong language, dream sequences, vengeful/evil thoughts, exposed panda testicles, flashbacks, nudity, sexual themes and violence. In other words, it is going to be awesome!

Before you start reading, I meant everything I just said. So, this chapter is rated M for its strong content.

Disclaimer: No me pertenece Kung Fu Panda (es de DreamWorks), pero sí me pertenece El Subterráneo.

Chapter 7: Field of Flowers

* * *

"We should lower our voices. I was informed by one of the villagers that he received a blow to the head."

It was very early; the gong hasn't even rang yet. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior were waiting in a dormitory, where they all patiently waited to see the snow leopard cub, resting on a bed, wake up and make sure he's alright.

Tigress had been quiet all night long, staring morosely at her feet, hoping that the child didn't suffer permanent damage. It was something she knew she would never forgive herself for allowing a young child get injured when she could have protected him instead of slacking off all day long. "Those other wounds on his forehead and on the back of his head are too old to have been caused during the bandits' attack."

"Why are you bringing that up again?" Crane asked, worried by her tone of voice.

"Because" there was a pause, "he could be a victim of child abuse." She answered rather quietly as she stared at the sleeping cub with intense sympathy and sadness. At such a young age and he is suffering far more than what she ever did. Shifu neglected her, but he never physically harmed her, the injuries she obtained during training do not count.

"The important thing is that he is safe now." He reassured her, receiving quick a nod of the head from the tiger.

"I wish he woke up already. I wanna ask him where he learned how to fight." Despite the boy's condition, Po wanted to know every detail of the battle that occurred the other day. It excited him to know that he was at the presence of such a young warrior. _He turned a wall into rubble with just one kick, that's so awesome!_

Noticing the bouncing panda, Viper slithered in to intervene, "I think it be better if you give him some space."

Tigress sat on the bed, right next to the sleeping cub as she gently caressed the fur on the boy's face, making him twitch a bit. She then said to herself, very quietly, "I wonder what he is dreaming about?"

* * *

The colors surrounding him were so vibrant and warm. It could bring joy to anyone who witnessed their splendor and beauty. The colors were actually flowers, which covered an entire sunny meadow. He looked to where sound of laughter and giggles, and there was a group of children playing, he recognized them and tried to walk to where they were, but for every step he took forward, Tai Lung seemed to get farther and farther from them. He started running but the attempt was futile.

"Wait, don't go!" He yelled out to the children, but they couldn't hear him, they just continued playing. He held out his arm trying to grasp them, of course he wasn't able to. "_I'm here!_" He yelled again.

Every color turned pale but then turned to darkness as he saw the images of the children vanish in the distance. Not giving up, he ran as fast as he could manage, but it still did nothing.

He suddenly felt pain coming from his head as the darkness itself engulfed him. It was like the world was swallowing him whole.

But he was still able to hear something in the distance. Voices of people he didn't recognize, mostly because they sounded like echoes coming from far away, they seemed to be talking to one another. Talking about him.

Futilely trying to escape from the darkness, kicking and clawing in every direction, in a desperate attempt not just to save himself but to be able to catch up with the children, Tai Lung looked around, wanting to know where the voices kept coming from. His vision became just like his surrounding, completely dark, up to the point where he couldn't see anything. Drowning in the darkness, his head being the only part of him not buried, he cried out for help, something which he never needed nor even think about doing.

Before being completely swallowed, he heard the voice of someone he thought he would never hear again, that sweet innocent voice, echoing away.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I just want to let you know… I'm still waiting... for you."

* * *

Morning sunlight gleamed through the windows and showered across the sleeping form of the four year old snow leopard.

When he woke up, he found it rather hard to fully open his eyes or to keep them open.

It was difficult because the light was too bright, but he was able to see the looming shadows of people next to him. He rubbed his paws against his eyes. Then he pressed his paws against a bump on the side of his head as he felt a sudden pain coming from that spot. He also noticed, as he caressed his noggin, bandages wrapped his entire head down from his forehead up to the tip of the top (except for his ears).

He heard voices, whispering to each other. It was the same ones he heard in his dream. But they didn't belong to the ladies he met at The Underground. In the back of his mind he could swear he had heard and met these people before but he didn't remember.

They all turned their attention to the boy who was moaning, turning and stirring in pain. It hurt him to the point it made him lean upward, his eyelids pressed shut, as he gently placed his paws against the sides of his bandaged head.

It was Crane who approached the child, who had his eyes shut, "Little boy, are you alright?"

He waited for the boy to respond, they all did, until they got an answer from the cub, one none of them expected to hear.

"_Arrgh!_ My mother fucking head!"

Everyone in that room recoiled, eyes widening, at hearing the child's choice of words.

Shocked and surprised by the strong language, Crane reprimanded, levelly, the child, "Um, you shouldn't say things like that, young man!"

"Who the fuck are you?" He was finally able to open his eyes and the dark blurs became visible. He gave the room a quick scan and had to swallow what he was going to say next. _Shit!_

He was surrounded by enemies. Feeling that any second they would pounce on him, he unsheathed his claws, but made sure they didn't notice him doing it beneath the blanket he was covered in, and prepared for the worse they could throw at him.

What he got was the serpent slithering on the bed with a bowl of oatmeal.

"You must be hungry. Here, have some oatmeal." She wrapped her coils around a wooden spoon and attempted to feed the boy.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't bite." She then moved the spoon full of oatmeal upward and downward, in a serpentine fashion (not a pun) toward the cub's mouth.

"Here comes the dragon, now open wide!" She said talking to him like if he was an infant.

"I'm not a baby, and I can feed myself!" He snapped at her testily placing his fist to his sides.

"You certainly are _not_ a baby and I'm _sure_ you can feed yourself. Show me how the _big_ kids do it!" She said in an over the top fashion, encouraging the boy, which only annoyed him. The serpent handed the cub the spoon.

Eyeing the oatmeal suspiciously, in case it's poisoned, he scooped some of the contents with the spoon, gave it a quick sniff and finally inserted the food in his mouth. He moved the mush around with his tongue and teeth and then allowed the bolus to slither down his throat.

It was okay.

Something felt strange, so he looked beneath the blanket and noticed his new clothing were gone, except for the black pants he was wearing. One of them must have changed his clothes while he slept. Deep down he hoped it wasn't one of the females in the room who changed him. At least, this time he awoke in a strange place dressed with something.

Viper noticed the boy eyeing his body and gave him the answer he was looking "If you're wondering what happened to your clothes, they are being cleaned. They were so dirty anyone might think you were scraped against dirt."

_You're not that far off._

He was going to scoop another spoonful of his breakfast until someone else spoke.

The words came from the panda. "I made it just for you. The oatmeal I mean."

The snow leopard snorted, "No wonder it tastes like shit!" He was not going to accept the big, fat panda's pittance.

Again, Crane approached the boy and reprimanded him, though this time a bit harsher. "You _really_ shouldn't say those kinds of words little boy."

Tai Lung gave the bird an enraged look while he growled inwardly, "_Who are you, my wife?_"

Crane was left flabbergasted, his beak hung open and his eyes seemed to express nothing more than surprise and shock, by the snow leopard's insulting words. From his side he heard Mantis chuckling, trying to hold in the laughter with one of his pincers. The bird knew the insect wasn't going to last that much longer without bursting out laughing.

Tigress, ignoring her friend's immaturity and the boy's strong and inappropriate language, stepped closer to the cub. "Can you at least tell us anything about yourself? Where are your parents, where do you live and what is your name?"

He hadn't thought of that. He needed a fake name for the time being. Tai was too obvious and it could give his identity away. Then, it hit him.

"My name is Xue Zai." Tai Lung answered.

What better name than the one that described what he is, a name that was spot on, a name Arc gave him: Snow Cub.

"Awwww, it fits you well." Viper said as she slithered closer to the cub.

Tai Lung cringed away from the reptile. "You're starting to creep me out!"

She backed away from him. "Sorry"

The striped cat wasn't going to let the conversation change, so she asked the other question she wanted to know. "And your parents?"

He looked at her in the eyes, those fiery umber eyes of her, as he threw daggers at her with his eyes. The snow leopard answered her question, but he turned his stare at another direction, not because it was a lie but because it pained him to think about it, and he didn't want her to see him in a weak position, even for a short moment. "I never met them."

The room was silent. Each of the Furious Five, even Tigress, and the Dragon Warrior looked at him with sadness and sympathy. This boy must be an orphan who has been living in the streets, which would explain his tough attitude.

Po wanted to cheer the boy up by showing him a few kung fu stances and poses. "Hey, you like kung fu, don't ya? If you were able to take down bandits all on your own then you must. Let me show you a perfect split."

He stood on one leg; he did a perfect split, making a sideways T-shape. He was proud of being able to perform such a difficult pose and he hoped everyone else was as well, but he, most of all, hoped that the display made the little boy smile happily.

"_Gross!_" The cub suddenly yelled out turning his face away, trying to cover the view of the panda by extending his arms forward and his paws flat to block the view. The look on cub's face displayed disgust and annoyance, mostly outright disgust.

The Dragon Warrior looked to each of the members of the Furious Five's faces and they all seemed rather disgusted by him, if the moans were any sign of it than yes they were about to vomit their guts out at the sight of the panda, and some, Mantis and Monkey, seemed to be on the verge of bursting in a laughing frenzy.

Still holding his pose, Po became annoyed by their reactions, "Oh, come on! I thought we were past this!"

Of course, Crane was the brave soul who decided to tell him, awkwardly, what the problem was, "Po, um, it's… it's not, uh, that."

"Then _what_ is it?" Po snapped, annoyed about his 'supposed' friends making fun of him.

Before anyone could say, or warn, the Dragon Warrior, the snow leopard cub snapped at the panda, still avoiding the sight in front of him "Your nut sack just flopped out of your pants, _that's_ what!"

"Whah, no they didn't," Po gave a quick peek and, "GAAH!"

He dropped down to the floor, with his paws covering his crotch, while trying to hide his 'shame' in his pants again. Every white area of his body, mostly his face and above all his cheeks, seemed to have turned bright red out of embarrassment. _Maybe I should start wearing longer pants._

The bright red panda finally stood up and cleared his throat and made a serious blank face, still with blushing cheeks. "Let's forget that happened." He said as he tried to regain his composure and dignity.

Tai Lung hopped out of bed and dashed to the door. But before being able to make an exit, Monkey stopped him, holding him and cradling him in his arms. "You should rest, little one."

"No damn it, I just want to leave!" The enraged snow leopard yelled.

At that same moment the gong rang. Tai Lung knew what that meant along with everyone else in the room.

"Should we…?" Crane said a little concerned.

However, Tigress, despite her good student demeanor, disagreed with what the bird was trying to say, "No," she then looked at the child trying to escape Monkey's grasp, "he needs all the attention he can get."

Could they get in trouble for nursing someone back to health, even if it is a little boy, without consulting Master Shifu first? They were about to find out.

Then a small form appeared and stood in the doorway, annoyance written all over his face. He feared that if he showed too much compassion for his students that they would expect him to do it often. Now, it did happen. Why were they all inside an empty bedroom? Master Shifu was going to find out why and get his students back to reality.

The red panda asked his students with a bit of anger and disappointment, "What is going on here," hearing their master's voice made them all turn their heads to where he stood, "I gave you a day off and now you expect to be given yet another one, simply because-"

He stopped talking the second he laid eyes on the cub being held upside down (he was giving the simian quite a hard time) by Monkey who struggled to keep the child from falling on the ground. The red panda just stared at the boy. The whole world seemed to disappear as his eyes stayed focused on the snow leopard. The small cat looked exactly like his deceased son did when he was that same age.

Seconds of silence turned to minutes, at least that's what it felt like.

Tai Lung did the same as the man who had abandoned him and left him for dead. Unlike the old master, he felt rage building up, he wanted to scratch the red panda's face off but he knew he stood no chance against six kung fu warriors and their master, so for know he had to blend in, as a child that is.

Without further ado, Tai Lung talked in a childish fashion and made sure his face showed the innocence children have in their facial features every waking moment, especially when they see and want something.

"I want to touch his ears!"

To that everyone smiled, especially Shifu. The old master felt joy hearing words like those coming from a child who resembled the boy he had once raised. It certainly brought happy memories and while it reminded him of his biggest failure he enjoyed them the most he could.

Quirking the corner of his lip, the red panda teased, "Well, I'm glad you like them."

They didn't suspect a thing. It was perfect. Tai Lung will get the revenge he so much craved. He was going to gain their trust and then pull the rug right from their feet and he will savor it for the rest of his life.

The snow leopard then looked once again at his former master's face and remembered something he was once told by the red panda himself. He reached for Shifu's long whiskers and pulled with all his might.

All the old kung fu master could do was to suck it up as he winced in pain. This again brought back happy memories, even though it hurt to dwell on the past and remember his many mistakes.

Po broke the silence in the room with excited air to his voice, "Hey, why don't I cook breakfast for everyone?"

"That is a splendid idea." Master Shifu nodded as he agreed with the Dragon Warrior's notion. It wasn't because he was hungry, though he was, but he wanted to know the snow leopard better as well as everyone else should, especially, if the boy stays in the Jade Palace. "Master Tigress, can you please carry Xue Zai to the kitchen?"

The striped feline nodded and picked up the child, making him grumble "what part of I'm not a baby don't you all understand?"

Once again the room was filled with smiles, and a few of them chuckled, hearing the boy's words. They wouldn't if they knew who the child really was.

* * *

He had spent the entire night crying, wishing for tons of liquor to quench his pain. He had lost his lifelong friends the other day by the hands of a child.

His comrades, his dear comrades were like brothers to him and they were all gone.

Raiding the Valley of Peace was actually a desperate attempt to ease their monetary problems in order for them to accomplish their dream to open a ballet studio.

Cinpronio was his name, the only one of the flamingos that survived the enraged cub.

How was he supposed to keep on living without his fellows? They flew all the way from Europe to get as much money as possible, in other words, stealing it from others even if they had to kill in order to achieve their goal.

Then he heard something rustling a bush. The bird turned his attention to where the sounds were coming from.

He sniffed, "Who's there?"

But no one responded. There was no one else there but himself.

He sighed heavily and slowly turned his head back to where he was originally staring at, which was a boulder covered in moss.

When he returned to his original position, something happen, first, he yelled and fell to the ground and two, the reason for it was the wide shiny eyes and pearly white smile, displaying sharp pointy teeth, staring back at him from the shadows of trees.

Cinpronio picked himself up, pulled out a knife from within his tight clothes and demanded the stranger' name.

The dark figure just smiled back, eyes never blinking, until it decided to step out of the shadows and show itself.

_What the hell is that?_ Cinpronio thought as he saw the stranger. Whoever or whatever that was, it was wearing a long black robe, decorated with white hearts, clovers, diamonds and what appeared to be upside-down hearts. The dark garment covered the entirety of the arms and hid the legs as well, and the robe dragged on the floor like in weddings he had attended back in his homeland. The being was rather short. The stranger's face, however, was not disguised behind clothing but concealed in the shadows produced by the black umbrella the person was holding to block all sunlight, despite that barely any light made it through the canopy of the trees.

The flamingo menaced the strange being with his knife, "Don't come any closer!"

"Why?" The stranger said with a raspy voice, the smile never disappearing from his face, and then sat down on a rock next to the bird like if he were no threat at all. "I just came here to lend a helping hand. To help you end this losing streak of yours."

Cinpronio lowered his weapon, letting his guard down, "Losing streak? What are you talking about?"

"You don't have money, a place to stay, your dream of opening a ballet studio in Spain will not occur and recently you lost the people you cared the most about."

"H-how do you know that?" The bird said it in amazement. He wondered if this person was some sort of mind reader or maybe he was a supernatural being.

The stranger, looked at him in the face, eyes still wide and big smile still plastered there, "While you were crying you were saying out loud."

"Oh!"

"I have a proposition. One that you cannot refuse. All you have to do is follow my game plan."

The flamingo eyed him carefully, "How do I know I can trust you or follow your commands?"

"Because I know a little secret and what I intend to do involves that secret, just so you know my intentions involve a certain snow leopard, one who played against the odds and came out victorious. Leaving you losing everything you held close to your heart."

The stranger was offering revenge against the cub who ruined him and took the lives of his friends. Without giving it a second's thought the flamingo nodded with determination burning in his eyes, "Count me in!"

The dark figure just smiled even wider, "Good. My names is Gambler, by the way, but mostly everyone calls me The Gambler."

"You can call me Cinpronio." The pink bird informed his new partner.

"Alright, Cinpronio, your first task is to cut the ropes of the Thread of Hope. I heard the workers were done fixing it."

"What does that have to do with the cub!"

"Just do as I say." Gambler said with a musical tone.

The bird grumbled under his breath, closed his eyes and slumped down, "Fine."

When he opened his eyes again and looked, the stranger was already gone.

It spooked him so much that he wasted no more than a second to take flight and head for the Thread of Hope.

* * *

They all gathered in the kitchen after Master Shifu allowed them to first make sure the boy settled in. Po was making breakfast for everyone. He wanted to make sure this time the cub likes his meal. It had hurt him to hear Zai say his cooking wasn't good enough, but then again, children tend to be difficult to please.

"From what I've been hearing, someone is a hero." Master Shifu said, smiling to the snow leopard

Tai Lung stared at his former master. It angered him to see that wretched backstabbing dwarf smile. How dare he be happy when it's his fault for causing the misery of others and, above all, him? Seeing the red panda in such a state of happiness made him want to murder him right on the spot, but he knew that could wait.

_You will get what is coming to you, make no mistake!_

Then the red panda gently ruffled the top of the cub's head, making sure not to do it too hard since the boy's cranium was wrapped in bandages.

"Where exactly did you learn how to fight? If the rumors are true, you alone defeated an entire bandit hoard, which, according to the valley citizens, you performed kung fu moves to take them down."

"Not all of them. Their leader got away." He seriously didn't know why he felt so disappointed that one of the bandits escaped. _I don't care about the welfare of any of those filthy valley dwellers._

Po stared in amazement at the boy for his concern for the welfare of others, "Hey, it's not everyday a four year old kid takes down a group of bad guys all by himself."

Annoyance was building up inside Tai Lung. He did not wanted to spend the whole day explaining what happened the other day.

"That reminds me, where did you learn how to fight?" Po asked as his eyes gleamed with excitement and interest in whatever the boy was going to say.

"It just happened; it… came natural to me."

Shifu was amazed by the child and his promising future in kung fu if trained right.

Alike the red panda, the snow leopard's mind was running wild with thoughts, but not about kung fu but how was he going to slip from everyone's eyes so he can go down to the valley and figure out the mystery about the Patient One.

Then he reached a conclusion that made him wonder why didn't he thought of it before. He should ask the residents of the Jade Palace, since they oversee the entire Valley of Peace, if they know anything about the ghost.

"Um, do any of you know anything about the ghost appearances about five years ago?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"I, uh…" He seriously didn't know how to answer that.

"Don't worry!" Po suddenly spoke up and then stared at the cub in the eyes while he reassured him, "You don't have to be afraid of ghost or anything as long as we are here nothing will harm you cuz we'll protect you."

That seriously annoyed Tai Lung. They were treating him like a baby, especially since he was a four year old, not an infant, but he knew that he had to endure it all if he wanted to have his revenge. "I just want to know." He replied flatly.

Why was he interested in some rumor? Shifu asked himself as he raised an eyebrow. What good reason does a child would want to know ghost stories, besides to prove that he is brave in front of adults despite that he is actually afraid?

The red panda, after deliberating whether he should tell such a young boy a tale about a ghost or not, wanted to inform the cub about all he knew of the sightings, except he couldn't. When he had first heard the tale five years ago, he had dismissed everyone who dared to talk to him about the issue. Not only did he not believe in ghosts but the reason for not wanting to hear anything about the spirit was because of how people who had seen it described the supernatural being. The descriptions matched Tai Lung's when he was four years old and he did not wanted to be reminded of everything he had lost.

Master Shifu stared deeply at the snow leopard cub. Maybe this was a sign that the heavens were giving him a second chance to raise another child, but this time he would do it the right way. This made him smile fondly, and despite his demeanor a tear ran down across his face. Quickly, wiping away the trace of emotion before anyone of his students noticed.

But, he was clear on one thing, he was going to adopt this lost orphan. He knew this was the way to undo the damage he has done. Xue Zai was destined for greatness and he was going to lead him there no matter how difficult it may be, though, he doubted it since the boy was, apparently, gifted in the art of kung fu. Reaching that conclusion made up his mind; he was going to raise the child properly. No mistakes this time.

First, the red panda wanted to see what the young protégé was made of. In other words, he was interested in witnessing the boy in action. A training session in the training hall would quench his rather bashful and excited thirst to know every detail of the snow leopard's fighting style.

While Shifu gazed at his future son with joy, Tai Lung himself was lost in thought not about kung fu but how was he going to get the answers he seeks and if none of the Jade Palace residents weren't going to help him, he might as well leave.

He didn't even dismiss himself and he still hopped down from his chair and made a run for it for the nearest exit. He didn't make it, of course, Shifu stopped him.

"Where are you headed to? You haven't eaten breakfast."

"I… got to go really bad." He made up on the spot.

"Ah, I see." He then turned to the striped feline, "Tigress, would you please accompany him to the latrine."

"First it was chamber pots and now this, the wonders of tomorrow!" Po exclaimed.

_The latrine? Just a hole on the ground? I guess the surface truly doesn't have the same technological advances like The Underground._ Tai Lung still couldn't believe of the indoor plumbing that existed only in the secret world, it was the best invention he had ever witnessed. Not needing to get loads of water manually by carrying buckets in order to fill a tub to be able to do whatever task needed to be done. The pipe system that was thoroughly explained to him by Arc left him impressed by the way water appeared by just turning a faucet. But he was mostly amazed by the ceramic machine that disposes people's wastes. Where it all lead to, he didn't care. It was just mind blowing to witness the wonder of indoor plumbing. He asked the lion, the first time he saw this wonder, why wasn't this amazing invention on the surface. The lion responded "So that people's shit can rain all over The Underground. Hell no!"

What did happen to Arc? Was he still in that antique shop? Where is he? Did he even know that the snow leopard had wandered off?

Tai Lung did not want to reach the most logical conclusion (to him): that the archeologist didn't really care about him and simply left him behind.

He should have known this would happen (again). He put his trust in someone and that person just turned him away.

Not having any reason anymore to care about the weird lion, Tai Lung decided to forget all about the other feline whom he thought was his friend. He glared at the floor with resentment, anger, and sorrow. The snow leopard felt awful on the inside, he felt his guts were contracting, pulling his innards in the process. He definitely was not prepared for this again, the way he felt after Shifu had turned him away. It made him want to smash and destroy anything he laid eyes on just to let out the steam.

But he knew that if he wanted to get his revenge, that could all wait for later, first he needed to get even with the 'dwarf' who ruined his life.

His reverie was broken when Tigress picked him up and held him like an infant child. She was going to take him to the latrine.

"I'm _not_ a baby, you know!" Tai Lung snapped at her as he tried to free himself from her grip.

The female feline obeyed him and gently placed him on the ground, "Fine, I'll lead you there."

And they went along following a marked road of cobblestones that lead to the latrine. Tai Lung just kept staring at the patterns beneath his feet. Somehow, the figures he saw were flowers, thousands, millions of flowers. Despite that he was staring at stones, with moss covering the gaps between them and some areas on top of them, the snow leopard saw the same warm colors the flowers had in his dream.

Then, out of nowhere, he heard the laughter of children.

He looked at every direction, even up and down. He turned around, hoping to find the same children he saw in his sleep. But there was no one around him besides the tiger master. Yet, he was able hear children laughing and giggling.

Tigress stared at the boy trying to find out where the sounds were coming from. Maybe he would like to play with them. She thought as she gave a fond smile. "If you're looking for the source of the laughter, it's just children down at the valley."

Tai Lung stared at the village below. He then growled and muttered a curse, how much he despised that village and now it mocked him once again by making him believe they were right there. Stomping his feet, like a small child would, he then kept walking down the path.

_Maybe he wants to play with other children?_ Tigress asked herself as she witnessed the boy's reaction.

She eyed him closer and noticed tears welling up in his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with his paw.

The memories came back; images that would never leave appeared in his head. All he saw was a snow leopard cub lying helplessly on the ground while he bled to death. Tai Lung shook his head trying to get rid of that image, but all it did was make another one appear, this one being another cub, just like the one before, except this one was being torn apart in half by two massive figures while he saw the cub's innards fall on the ground making a bloody pile of gore and carnage.

He closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to make those nightmares go away.

Opening them, he was back at the Jade Palace, no trace of the awful images anywhere just the striped feline in front, leading him. He looked down and the flowers seemed to have disappeared, all he saw was the cobblestone pattern.

But, he could hear his own voice echoing in his head, crying out, "I promise I'll…"

Tai Lung shook his head violently trying to get rid of those awful memories. Tigress saw over her shoulder the scrounged child holding his head with his claws digging through the bandages, drawing blood in the process. She hurried to his side.

She held him by the shoulders and slightly shook him, "What's wrong?" She sounded really concerned.

He stopped as soon as the tiger spoke to him. He looked up, tears stinging his eyes, his throat holding back a cry. He saw the other feline looking at him with fear in her sight. Did she fear something happening to him? No, she only cared, no, _pitied_ him because he was a child, a child she didn't even knew his secret.

"I'm fine." He snapped "I just have to go really, _really_ bad."

Hearing that, Tigress gave a quick nod and picked up the cub and carried him to their destination. Of course, Tai Lung wanted to complain but he wasn't. He figured if he wanted to gain their trust he needed to be more polite to everyone.

* * *

He was done doing he came to do. Yeah, turns out he actually had to go really, _really_ bad.

Tigress took a good look at his face, which showed anger (no surprise there!), "What's wrong, did you fell _in_?"

"No" He snapped.

The tiger gestured to the boy to follow her.

"Master Shifu told me to take you to the bathhouse. He says you could use a bath and I have to agree with him."

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow after hearing the tiger's words. He cautiously lifted his arm and gave a quick sniff to his underarm. It didn't smell bad. Then again, children armpits do not produce a strong odor not until they hit puberty.

Tigress laughed watching the little boy sniffing his body, "It's not that you smell it is simply that by the looks of the clothing you were wearing yesterday, you haven't bathed in a while… or you were rolling on the floors of a cave."

He simply gave her an odd look at hearing the last part.

Once again, she led him to their destination, the bathhouse had wooden tub full of, what appeared to be, warm water.

"I prepared it while you were taking care of your 'business'."

The snow leopard stepped closer to the tub and dipped a finger in the water. It was the perfect temperature.

Before undressing, Tai Lung removed all of the bandages from his head and threw them away, the injuries weren't that bad to begin with, and then he started to remove his black pants until he noticed Tigress was still in the room. He covered his private area with the trousers in his paws. "Hey, a little privacy?"

"I am not going to leave a small-" she stopped when Zai gave her a look, "a _child_ alone in a bathtub."

Damn. He had to bite his lip and let her watch over him. He was going to do his best not to allow the female to look at his nakedness, after all, the tiger was very attractive, and the last thing he wanted was to get turned on.

He hopped in the water, which was so relaxing, and looked around for a sponge or a rag to scrub himself with.

His ears sprang up when he felt someone scrubbing his back. He turned around and it was none other than Tigress.

"Eek," he squeaked when he felt the female tiger scrubbing his back with a sponge, "what are you doing?"

"Scrubbing those hard to reach places." She said levelly.

"I-I can, uh, I mean…" Good Gods, he had always wanted a woman, actually he wanted a bunch of women, to scrub his body during a bath but now he had to fight the urge to let his animal instincts kick in and act like a normal child.

She noticed how uncomfortable he was and tried to calm him down just exactly how she was once told by one mother of three children living down in the valley, "Would you like some company in there?"

"Yes" He blurted out not even giving it a thought.

Hearing the cub confirming it, Tigress began to disrobe. First, she took of her vest, slowly. She had nothing to worry about taking her clothes off in front of a four year old boy.

Tai Lung could have sworn he stopped breathing as he stared at the free peepshow. _Don't lose it like you did with Tia, don't lose it…_

The vest had come off and the female tiger's torso was exposed. He fought the urge to reach up and feel her chest. What caused him not to do that was when Tigress began taking her pants off. Everything around him seemed to stop, all except the striped feline removing her clothing right in front of him.

He stared at her bare form. Despite how he had envisioned her in the past, she was more beautiful than what he ever could have imagined.

She was going to enter the tub with him until…

…Master Shifu walked in.

She quickly grabbed a towel on the nearby rack and covered herself with it.

"Forgive me, Master Tigress, I came to check up on Xue Zai."

"You can call me Zai if you want. You don't have to be so anal about everything!"

The cub was right. He made a vow to treat others better when he got his inner peace. That included being less of a workaholic and relax more.

"I came here to inform you that I'll be watching over Zai, so you can go back to training with the others."

By the time Shifu stopped talking Tigress had finished dressing herself again. "Thank you, Master." She bowed respectfully and before she left the bathhouse she informed the red panda, "He likes to have company in the tub." She then exited.

Shifu looked at the boy sitting in the warm water. He started removing his robe. The kung fu master knew this would be a good bonding experience with his future son.

Tai Lung wanted to murder that lying, backstabbing son of a bitch for every second of those twenty years of pain and suffering. More importantly, he wanted to kill Shifu because there would no longer be a reason for him to feel like a disgrace or unworthy of anything because the one person he always tried to honor would never again deem him as a worthless excuse of not just a student but also a son.

He could feel all of the hatred he felt for the red panda boiling up so much that he could have sworn the water got warmer and warmer.

Once Master Shifu had taken off his clothing, Tai Lung got a full view of his former father's naked body. He didn't knew what happened to him, he felt something weird inside of him, not outright disgust but attraction towards the old man in front of him. For a man his age the red panda was in great shape. The snow leopard's breathing got harder as Shifu got inside the tub and sat in the water right next to him.

"Now, hygiene is important, not just for your health but also to keep a good appearance."

Tai Lung didn't answer, he just kept staring the red panda's body.

Shifu noticed the boy's eyes running around his form, he chuckled, "There is no shame in being unclothed with someone else, and we are both guys." And pretty soon you and I will be a family.

"I-I want," he couldn't keep his eyes away from the nude red panda, "to scrub your back!"

Shifu smiled, then handed over the sponge to the child, "Do it in circles, first clockwise then counterclockwise."

He was teaching kung fu even at the least appropriate moments. Leave it to him to turn bath time in to a training exercise. Same old Shifu.

Tai Lung started to gently scrub the red panda's back, which would be easy since there isn't much back to begin with. He placed his left paw on Shifu's shoulder, on which he could feel the rock-hard muscles (he knew the red panda was strong but he never actually felt his muscles before), for support as he scrubbed in circles, like he was told to, but he couldn't help slipping it down the red panda's back and feel the divine muscles along the way. The snow leopard purred under his breath as he rested his paw on Shifu's hip, hoping that if he was careful he could get away with sliding his hand along Shifu's… No, stop, he's your father… your master, no, your ARGH!

His mind ran with the memories of the day he and Shifu bathed together when he was sixteen.

_He was right in the same place he was twenty-two years ago. The water was as warm as his body, which meant it was the perfect temperature, as he waited his master to join him, Tai Lung, a muscular, good-looking teenager was hoping that Shifu would keep his word, like he promised, and take a bath with his son. The snow leopard assumed that this would strengthen the bonds they shared. Of course, this wasn't the first time they both bathed together, but Tai Lung wanted to spend some quality time with his father whom he loved with all of his heart._

_At last, Shifu arrived wearing nothing more than a towel around his waist. Tai Lung smiled and bowed to his master as he felt his heart beating faster and faster._

_The red panda happily took off his towel and joined his son. The snow leopard watched his entire body as Shifu made his way into the tub and to sit next to his prized student. Tai Lung adored the way the water made his master's body gleam, especially since it made the muscles of his body appear out of nowhere._

_"Wonderful day, isn't it?"_

_"It sure is!" Tai Lung agreed with a purr under his breath. He just couldn't stop staring at Shifu's diminutive form. Thinking it was appropriate he wrapped an arm behind the red panda's head and rested it on his strong shoulders._

_Both of them gave a long winded sigh of relief and pleasure._

_Tai Lung leaned and nuzzled his father's neck. The feline breathed in Shifu's scent and it gave him chills. The scent was strong, the way all men emit odors, however, the smell only accomplished giving the snow leopard a thrill that made him moan inwardly a he took a deep breath, pressing the red panda gently against his torso in a protective manner._

_Master Shifu breathed in the scent of flowers from the soapy water and, with the sponge in his hand, started scrubbing Tai Lung's underarm. "That is one strong odor you emit, my son." He chuckled a little, especially after seeing the snow leopard's slightly embarrassed expression._

_"Let me clean you, it would be my pleasure, Master."_

_"Alright, do it in circles, first clockwise then counterclockwise."_

_"Leave it to you to make anything a kung fu exercise!"_

_Master Shifu just leaned against the tub and closed his eyes and allowed his student to wash him. But Tai Lung got another idea and picked up the red panda and held him on his left arm, like an infant child, and scrubbed him with his right hand. The old kung fu master was still relaxed and he felt rather safe being in his protégé's embrace. It was so relaxing that Shifu actually fell asleep._

_The teenager just stared at his master's, close range, nude body, not knowing that his father had fallen asleep. He was a gorgeous man and Tai Lung couldn't contain what he felt anymore. With his free hand he cupped his master's face, then placed his fingers on the red panda's lips, they were warm and moist. The young cat worked his hand down to the pectorals, feeling exactly how hard the muscles beneath were, then kept moving it down the sleeping red panda's belly and continued down the length of Shifu's leg and finally stopped when he reached the toes._

_He quickly removed his hand from his master and let out a loud hot breath he was holding the entire time he caressed the red panda's naked form. He knew this was wrong, but it felt right, he stared at Shifu and saw a blissful smile, obviously caressing his body made the kung fu master smile but Tai Lung wasn't aware that he was sleeping, he thought his master approved of it, so he did what he wanted to do and pressed his lips against Shifu's. It was like an explosion of joy and delight. He dug his tongue as deep as he could and massaged the inside of his master's mouth._

_Master Shifu opened his eyes a little and saw none other than his son locking lips with him while twirling his tongue around his mouth. He forcefully pushed Tai Lung's face away from his and dropped into the tub, making a big splash. The kung fu master got up to his feet and was about to demand what his student was doing until he met eye to eye with 'little Tai Lung' pointing right at his face._

_"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?"_

_Tai Lung didn't know what he meant. Shifu didn't seem to mind at first, so why was he enraged. "What do you mean? We were bonding, weren't we?"_

_Shifu looked at his son with a horrified expression. Tai Lung, to him, was sexually attracted to him. He should have seen this coming, raising a boy around only men through all his life, away from women._

_"It's alright, Tai Lung. You, you are just confused, yes, you are just confused."_

_Confused? "Master, I'm not confused. I love you. Don't you love me?"_

_"Not like that!"_

_Those words seem to have plunge themselves right through Tai Lung's heart like a knife. His master, father and idol did NOT love him._

_"Do not worry, my student, I'll do everything I can to help you!" By help he meant more and harder kung fu training and exercises._

_The snow leopard just stared blankly at the red panda. If he wanted Shifu to love him, he needed to do everything he asks for and accomplish them._

Waking from his memories and returning to the present, Tai Lung saw that he had scrubbed Shifu's entire back so many times that the skin beneath the fur was red. "Um, sorry!"

"It's alright," Shifu said with a smirk, "I've had worse."

Tai Lung noticed that his paw was still on Shifu's hip. He quickly removed it from there. The last thing he wanted was to make his fath-, his former master uncomfortable. _What am I thinking? You are going to destroy everything he holds dear, remember? What do I care if I make him uncomfortable? He's going to suffer either way. You are not going to let him get away with what he did to you… and what he did to them!_

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Zai." Shifu asked. If he wanted to adopt the boy first he needed to know him better.

"Like what?" Tai Lung asked flatly,

Shifu raised an eyebrow and smiled, then counted with his fingers, "Where did you come from? When were you born? What is your favorite food and pastime? And, I would like to know a little bit more about your parents because if they hurt you in any way, rest assure that I will never allow that to happen again."

"I don't know where I came from, no one knows when I was born, my favorite food is salmon with soy sauce, and my favorite pastime is to…" Tai Lung found it very hard to finish answering that one because tears started to run down his cheeks and his throat was jerking a bit, "…make people I love happy."

He didn't tell a single lie in any of his answers, especially the last one. All he ever wanted was to make Shifu happy and proud. It saddened him knowing that he didn't knew anything else than kung fu. Yet, he could not tell why he was crying. He figured being turned into a cub made him weaker and more likely to be more emotional like all children.

Shifu hugged the cub and rested the boy's head on his shoulder, "Shh, don't cry." He reassured the cub in his embrace, "As long as I'm here, no one will ever hurt." He then kissed the child's forehead.

"Shifu,"

"Yes."

"Your junk is touching mine."

He separated himself from the cub and then cleared his throat, "Sorry."

* * *

After their bath, Master Shifu thought it would be a good idea if the boy entered the lifestyle of kung fu since he was going to live in the Jade Palace. He still wanted to bond with him, especially after that awkward bath.

Both of them stood beneath a certain famous peach tree. Shifu had brought the child here to introduce the world of kung fu to the boy. The boy was very quiet and had not spoken a word ever since the bath, so the red panda broke the silence between them.

"This here is the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, here is where Master Oogway rests." He said it with vindication and pride as he gestured towards the tree.

Tai Lung eyed the tombstone at the base of the tree. It was Oogway's grave. It angered him thinking of the old turtle who, just like the red panda, ruined his life.

Without hesitation, the snow leopard spat on the stone while he stared at it with hatred, he knew that if he wanted to get his revenge he would have to get rid of everything related to the damn turtle, even the peach tree.

Master Shifu stared flabbergasted at the child for how he had disgraced his deceased master's grave. He wanted to yell or at least reprimand the boy, but he let it slide, besides he can always punish him by making him do arduous chores around the palace.

"I don't like it here, let's go someplace else!"

"What is not to like from such a peaceful place, a place that Master Oogway loved to visit every single day?" Shifu asked sounding angrier than what he intended to sound.

The cub glared at the red panda, which made Shifu actually take a step back. The old master looked down to see that his foot had bumped against a peach._ Maybe if he took a closer look at the fruit he might change his mind?_ The old master contemplated; surely, if Master Oogway saw how special the prudes were, a child would as well. Without hesitation, the red panda grabbed the peach and held it out to the snow leopard.

Tai Lung took the fruit from the old red panda's hand and gave it a closer look.

Master Shifu closed his eyes, smiled, placed his hands inside his sleeves and then gave a small nod. He knew the boy would find some deep meaning just by staring at his master's favorite fruit.

Then, all of a sudden, something hit him hard in the face.

Wiping and scraping squishy pieces off of his face he stared at the cub, who glared at the red panda with intense hatred. Shifu looked at the child then at the splattered remaining pieces of the peach on the ground. He was scandalized by the huge disrespect to Master Oogway, his face turned to one of anger and seriousness, and before he could reprimand the boy, the snow leopard beat him to it but in a calm and casual fashion.

"I am not a student of yours, I never agreed that I would practice kung fu and I never agreed to be part of your life." Then his face turned hard and menacing as he said gritting his teeth, "So you can shove all of this gay kung fu shit up your _sphincter_ because thinking that somehow you imitating a fucking senile turtle makes _you_ more important than anyone else makes you look stupid and pathetic, especially, if you think this will somehow bring that asshole back to life. If you want another bitch-boy to wipe your ass every time you say so… look someplace else."

All that the old master did was stand there, flabbergasted, one eye twitching and mouth hanging open while both of his ears drooped. The only thing that held him back from punishing the child was the fact that he was probably abused by others and if he wanted to help Zai, Master Shifu needed to be patient, especially, since by helping this troubled boy he was going to undo all the damage he has done to others by making the snow leopard a model citizen but also a protector.

Unlike Master Shifu, what ran through Tai Lung's mind was "how dare him stuffing this Oogway bullshit on me. Even if I do everything like he asks, he will never be pleased with my accomplishment, he never was." Then he remembered that he needed to get along with him so he can gain his trust. If Shifu kicks him out of the Jade Palace it would be harder to achieve his vengeance.

"I'm sorry," The boy said as he stared at the old master with big sad, puppy dog eyes and exposed his bottom lip, "I just don't like it when people tell me what to do!"

"That's… quite alright my so-." He stopped himself before he finished that statement. If he was too kind the boy would expect to get away with everything but he also was not going to mistreat him.

The two mistakes he made with Tai Lung and Tigress, and he was not going to let that repeat itself ever again.

It was so easy, Tai Lung almost felt pity for him. Almost. It was pathetically easy. All he had to do, to throw him off the scent, was act like an actual four year old when he knows punishment is on its way for misbehaving.

Tai Lung immediately hugged the red panda as tight as he could, caressing his former father with the fur on his head.

Shifu hugged the boy back, carefully, caressing hid head with his own fury face. Despite the fact that Xue Zai needed a lot of help, the red panda was not going to let this second chance to make up for everything wrong he has done go away.

Why was he enjoying that embrace? He was here to destroy everything the red panda held dear. So why did he hugged the man who betrayed him, locked him away and abandoned him even more caringly?

The snow leopard felt the old man's muscles as he hugged him. He ran his paws across his body to feel the hidden musculature beneath the robes. It was just like during their bath earlier that day, Tai Lung felt attraction for the red panda. Feeling lightheaded, he hugged the kung fu master harder, pressing him against Shifu's chest, the reason for tightening the embrace was simple. It wasn't because he wanted to feel the muscles but he wanted to feel the warmth he always craved from him, fatherly warmth.

Shifu, on the other hand, thought that the child's gesture, as well as the ones in the bath tub, was just the boy caressing him.

"Come with me"

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to get you something special."

_Something special._ The words echoed in his ears. Those were the last words he heard from Arc the other day. He first thought the old master was going to abandon him like the lion but then he figured that if he did do that, Tai Lung was going to kill him the next time he sees the red panda.

His reverie was broken when Master Shifu held his paw and asked him to follow.

They started to descend down the cobblestone stairs. Tai Lung looked back at the peach tree and stared at it while he plotted his revenge against Shifu and Oogway. The only thing that came to mind was "tree has to go".

_Maybe I should chop it down or burn it to the ground._ Tai Lung smirked evilly as he imagined the look on Shifu's face when he sees the peach tree after the snow leopard is done with it.

He looked at the peach blossoms on the tree. He fought the urge to remember his dream and the children he saw. _Don't worry. Soon I will avenge you all._

* * *

This was a good opportunity to ask people about the Patient One. He was down in the valley in the market place with Master Shifu.

Tai Lung looked around, seeing that many people were waving at him. He recognized a few of them from the other day after he defeated the flamingos.

"It's the Patient One!" One of the villagers shouted.

Many of the villagers gathered, many of them were children who were eager to meet a hero the same age as them, around him and Master Shifu, which caused him to actually to scuttle closer to his former father.

To that Shifu chuckled. The boy who acted like a tough guy was hiding behind him, using him like a shield from strangers.

"Do not worry." Shifu said reassuring the child, "they are not going to bring you any harm. In fact, I'm positive they all would like to thank you for the display of bravery and heroism from yesterday."

Taking another look at the boy, the kung fu teacher waved the crowed of people away, informing them that _Xue Zai_, not the Patient One, was in no condition to answer questions or to attend anyone.

They made their way to a seamstress shop. It was still difficult to get there since both of them were attracting the attention of everyone in the streets.

So that is what Shifu wanted to buy him: new clothes.

A female pig came towards the cub with a measuring tape and rapidly measured every length she needed. She seemed to be the kind of person who only had thoughts of rainbows and unicorns.

"Perfect, I made a pair of pants and a shirt to go with it just this morning that would fit him perfectly perfect!" And so she went to the back of the shop to find her latest creations.

Shifu looked at Xue Zai and said with a happy tone, "Aren't we in luck?"

"Whatever" Tai Lung said flatly, showing no sign of caring what the red panda was doing for him.

The porcine came back presenting the clothing she had made. The clothes were beautiful, the shirt was blue and the trousers were white.

Shifu wanted to buy them the second he laid eyes on 'Zai's new clothing'. He took a peek at the child, hoping that he was as amazed by the gorgeous pieces of clothing, but the cub's face expressed disinterest and actually looked like he didn't even care about the red panda's kind gesture.

_Tia Ra's clothing are way better than these. Even if they are girly monstrosities._ The snow leopard thought.

"I'll take them." Shifu said, convinced that they were perfect for the cub.

"Okay, that will be fifty _yuan_!"

He let that sink in, "WHAT?"

"The shirt and pants are worth fifty yuan."

"Fifty yuan for a shirt and some pants!"

"Um, no. Fifty yuan for the shirt and fifty yuan for the pants."

"**WHAT?**"

"Uh, the shirt is worth fifty yuan and the pants are worth fifty yuan as well."

"I know math. What I don't understand are the high prices!"

"I made these pieces with all my heart. I believe these are my best work."

Tai Lung witnessed Shifu become a volatile bargain hunter just like how he remembered. And from experience he decided to wander off and come back a few hours later, when the problem will be solved by both the sales person and Shifu coming to an agreement.

This gave him the perfect opportunity to interrogate villagers about the ghost sightings.

He saw one of the valley's guards and went towards him. Surely, he must know something. Before reaching the horse (the species of the guard) he bypassed a flower shop. Tai Lung looked around and he was surrounded by the same warm flowers from his dream, he then heard children laughing.

He knew what was going to happen next, so he shook his head violently and snapped himself out of the haunting images.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" He looked up and saw the flower shop owner, a brown female rabbit, "yes, I'm fine."

The rabbit looked at him closely, "You're that little boy everyone is talking about, aren't you?"

Tai Lung picked himself up and answered her question, "The one who took out the bandits? Yes."

"You are the Patient One! I thought you'd be older by now."

_Does she know something about him?_

"I'm not the Patient One. However, I would like to know everything you can tell me about him. I would appreciate it."

"Well all I've heard are the stories everyone says about him. But if you would like to know a lot, you should visit Mr. Ping, he lives and works in the noodle shop in that direction." She then pointed to where the shop was located. "He once got close enough to the ghost that he swears that the boy was alive."

"Thank you, for your help ma'am."

"It was my pleasure sweetie." She said it as she ruffled the top of his head. Apparently, that was something people enjoyed to do to him.

Tai Lung went in the direction the flower shop owner told him to take and, decided to take a shortcut, and went through an alley. If only he would have noticed the five people in front of him, who were headed towards the Jade Palace.

* * *

They all worked up an appetite after an arduous training session. Whether it was sparring on top of the Jade Tortoise, dodging the fire geysers at Field of Fiery Death or balancing themselves on the Spinning Serpents while evading the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion.

It was afternoon, the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior were going to call it a day and head back to check up on the cub they have grown to care.

"Hey, if we hurry maybe Master Shifu will let us stay up late and watch over Zai."

"Why would he need someone to watch over him at night?" Tigress asked.

"Well, he is four years old he might be scared of sleeping alone in a new place. So, if we're there we can make sure the scary monsters stay away from him." Po was mostly trying to convince himself that that was the real reason because it was the fact that he wanted to get to know the cub better.

Tigress opened the doors of the training hall and everyone stopped on their tracks as five strangers blocked the exit. Each of the masters and Po eyed the people in front of them, with curiosity and a little of suspicion. In front of them were an attractive lioness who exposed too much of her body, a weird looking teenage lion, a rabbit wearing a short white dress, a tall raccoon dressed in red holding a bag full of scrolls, and a cheetah wearing a blue uniform.

By the looks on their faces, which displayed determination on each of them, this was not going to end up pretty.

* * *

A/N: First I want to say that I am shocked that no one else besides me came up with Po's balls flopping out his pants when he makes a split. But, I am even more shocked and surprised that no one has made anything feces throwing related that revolved around Monkey. People in The Underground should be grateful that the surface dwellers followed their example and allowed all waste products go down the drain into the sewage system. When Tai Lung insults Shifu by saying that physiological matters are gay I, under any circumstance, do not intend to insult anyone by it, I just thought that it would make the character of Tai Lung more realistic. The name I gave the leader of the flamingos, Cinpronio, is actually the name of a character in "La Celestina" by Fernando De Rojas.

That little scene with Tigress undressing in front of Tai Lung was for the Tai Lung/Tigress fans. The other part where Tai Lung has unholy thought about Shifu is actually how I envision the snow leopard to be: confused because of all of the mixed messages Shifu gave him. That and according to psychology or psychoanalysis, Tai Lung being in love with his father is actually normal considering that he never had someone else to love, so don't get creeped out cause according to studies everyone in this world has had naughty thoughts about their parents and no this isn't a Shifu/Tai Lung story.

Awe yeah, next chapter will be the fight between the Furious Five vs. Tia Ra, Arc, Frankie, Zoi and Lan Se. Which team do you think is going to win?


	8. Back Up's Here!

Thank you, everyone who reviewed give yourselves a big hug, my treat! Sorry for the long delay, college life isn't easy. Those of you who know La Celestina I know the character in it is called Sempronio, not Cinpronio, I just wanted to be original. KFP2 is coming to theaters this month and I saw previews and all I can say is that compared to many stories I've read on this website, the movie is going to suck but I'm still going to see it, hopefully I can continue this story without colliding with the movie events if not then I'll have to do some changes to my original design but the story will still stay the same. Now, on to the battle: Furious Five vs. Arc, Tia Ra, Zoi, Lan Se and Frankie. But first, learn what happened before they reached the valley. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks does. The Underground belongs to me.

Chapter 8: Back Up's Here!

* * *

They spent the whole night waiting for the juvenile felines to return. Luckily, Frankie kept serving them oolong, or else Tia Ra and Zoi wouldn't have been able to stay awake. The lioness got to rest for a while but the raccoon didn't even showed sign of drowsiness, mostly because she couldn't stop thinking about the welfare of the missing children. It was frightening to think about every possible way the two boys could wind up badly injured or worse, dead.

Staring at her tea, Zoi couldn't help but think about what kind of vile being would abandon a little boy in the middle of a forest, let alone a forest beneath the Earth's crust. How she desired to make Tai's father's acquaintance so she could show the scumbag how a lady like her treat men like him.

"Zoi"

Her thoughts were broken by Frankie's voice.

The reporter looked up and smiled at her friend's concerned face. The rabbit, on the other hand, was far from returning a smile to the raccoon, ever since Lan Se left in search of the missing boy's she has been worried that the cheetah might choose to get back delivering and not come back. It depressed her knowing that once again she wasn't able to tell the feline how she feels about him.

"Frankie," this came from Zoi who got concerned watching the rabbit's face, which displayed anguish and sadness, "are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I… I'm just worried about Tai and Arc." She didn't lie, yes, she was more interested in the hunky deliveryman but she also feared for the young cats' well-being. Right now, the rabbit wanted to make Zoi clear her mind off of the boy's. "Soooo…" she waited for the raccoon to turn her attention to the chef, "how's Kaito doing?"

The reporter smiled widely, "The doctor told me he has made such progress. It made me so happy hearing him laugh and smile."

Kaito, Zoi's troubled son.

The rabbit saw tears in her friend's eyes, not of sorrow, though she noticed a little of sadness displayed on her features, but of joy.

Frankie checked around to make sure no one heard her and whispered to Zoi, "He finally got over the…?" she lowered her voice and leaned forward and whispered the rest of her question, "…you know."

Zoi knew exactly what she meant since the raccoon was one of the survivors along with her son of one of the biggest conspiracies kept secret, even in The Underground.

"No, but he seems to have gotten over it, most of it."

"Has he stopped lashing out at others?"

"Yes, or at least not as much as he used to."

"Are the doctors allowing him interact with other children?"

"Yes but under a watchful eye, they never allow him alone with others ever since he…" Zoi couldn't find the strength to finish the sentence.

"It's alright, you once told me what happened." Frankie was well informed of the events that occurred when Kaito's doctors allowed him to play with a group of kids his age. "…so you don't need to say it if you don't want to."

Tia finally spoke up, reassuring her friend, "Girl, everything is going to be fine. I know your boy will get better."

"Thanks" There was a smile on her face but her eyes said something else: sadness, helplessness with a little bit of hope. She wanted to change the conversation and she remembered that Tia had picked up someone at the train station about a mile away from the no name forest, "So, is Jagter here?"

Tia turned her attention back to Zoi after hearing the reporter mentioning her husband's name, "He and-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because in that same moment Lan Se walked in, his face expressing disappointment.

"Lan Se, you're back!" Frankie, of course, was the one to greet the feline but once she saw his facial features, her excitement faded, "Did you find them?"

He said no word as he looked at the floor and shook his head .

Frankie, as well as Tia and Zoi, understood what that meant.

"Where could they be?" The raccoon whispered to herself.

"I checked every inch of this city, the outskirts, even the no name forest, and yet no sign of Arc or a snow leopard cub." The cheetah explained, "It's like the earth swallowed them!"

Zoi reached a conclusion after hearing the cheetah's comment. _Maybe it did, didn't Arc mention he found the entrance of the Ruins of Terkhonazya?_

If only Arc had told her the whereabouts of the entrance. Wait a second, Jagter is a hunter, he can sniff out the two missing cat's scent and find the entrance.

Before she could tell everyone her plan, a certain lion ran inside of the restaurant and stopped when he reached the table where everyone was seated.

He was panting heavily and sweating so much he looked like someone emptied a bucket of water on him.

"Arc!" Everyone said at the same time and hurried to see if the lion was well.

"Where were you? And where is Tai?" Zoi asked.

He took a pause between words to take deep breaths. "I… we… were… exploring… ruins… booby…. trap… handcar… antique… store… bikini… wearing… flamingos… Hey, Lan Se, how are you?"

"_Arc!_" Everyone on the table said at the same time.

"Oh, sorry, as I was saying, Tai and I finally reached the Valley of Peace and then-"

"_The _Valley of Peace!" The words seemed to have exploded out of Lan Se as he bolted to his feet. Finally, there was some way to reach the Valley of Peace.

"How did you reach that place?" Zoi asked.

"I, with the help of Tai of course, discovered a secret passage that leads right inside of the valley."

The reporter looked around and saw no sign of the snow leopard, "Where is Tai anyway?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you guys, the reason I came here as fast as I could: I discovered who Tai's father really is!"

"Who?" Zoi asked coming off a little impatient. No one could blame her, according to everyone Tai's father is a horrible mean man and they were eager to know who he is.

"It's" there was pause not sure how to tell them but it was better to let it out, "Master Shifu."

Everyone on the table paled in silence.

"That son of a bitch is his _father_?" Tia cried out and by the look on Zoi's face she wasn't the only one bothered by the news. While everyone was swallowing the bit of information they just received, Arc explained how he found Tai's father's identity.

"Yes, an old lady told me that the Dragon Warrior was taking him to his father up in the Jade Palace."

Lan Se was worried about the cub but he also wanted to know how the two young cats made it to the valley, "How is it that you reached the Valley of Peace?"

"The temple beneath the Ruins of Terkhonazya has a tunnel that leads right inside of it." Arc answered.

Zoi was silent with rage and anger building up inside of her. She truly hated Shifu with every fiber of her body. She couldn't hold in her anger anymore.

"It's his fault…"

Frankie looked at the raccoon and worried about her, she knew Shifu was hated throughout The Underground but the reporter's hatred was something that people would consider to be insanity. "Zoi, are you fine?"

Zoi didn't answer, she simply finished her statement.

"It's his fault that every awful thing that befell the people in the Valley of Peace happened and many others. You know what he did to _Da Xia_!"

Everyone's faces turned grim hearing that name. They all knew about the story of the woman, Da Xia, and Master Shifu's part in it.

It filled her with (even more) hatred for the red panda. How could people allow him to adopt another child when he has proven to be an awful father? Zoi was not going to allow him get away with this; abandoning his child in the middle of a forest in a hidden beneath the world's surface for reasons unknown, probably because Tai didn't reach the kung fu potential the red panda wanted, made him the reporter's target.

The only thing that can be said about her past targets is that they were never heard from again.

Shifu was not going to get away with this. Last time, she humiliated him but know she wanted to destroy everything he held precious just like how he destroyed the lives of others for his selfish desires.

Arc couldn't waste more time, the life of his friend was in danger, "I came here to ask for your help, we have to save Tai from Shifu's cruelty, and this could lead to a fight with the Furious Five… so, are you guys going to help me? Remember this is for Tai."

"Pierre," Frankie called out to her assistant chef, "you're in charge while I'm gone!" She was going to help save the boy from the evil red panda.

"_Oui_."

Tia Ra was not going to miss this out, "There is no way I'm going to let a child anywhere near Shifu. Count me in! Frankie, can you tell one of your waiters to tell my husband that I'll be gone for a while."

"Pierre," Frankie called out again.

"I heard her, _belle demoiselle_ Fortier." Pierre informed his boss.

"Good, and get me the soy sauce I keep in the forbidden cabinet"

"You told us never to use anything in there."

"I know, just do it" Her assistant chef followed her orders.

Finally, Zoi made herself be heard once more, "Shifu has made his last mistake. He needs to pay for everything he has done. I'm not staying behind"

"Neither am I," Lan Se added, "the letter can wait, even if it is for him, there is no way I'm letting a child stay with that evil pint-sized bastard."

Pierre arrived with two bottles in his hands, a red one and a black one. Frankie took them and placed them inside her dress.

"Good, then let's go!" Arc informed sounding more determined than any other moment in his life. "The more time we waste the longer Tai will suffer."

The rest of his friends nodded in agreement and followed him out the doors of the restaurant and straight for the no name forest.

The Valley of Peace better prepare itself because hell was coming straight at it.

* * *

The looks on the intruder's faces were ones not to fool around because they were serious, they were not going to leave Tai in the hands of the man who mistreated and abandoned him.

She recognized the raccoon, she remembered the last time the reporter visited because it was one of the biggest, if not _the_ most, humiliating experience her master has suffered, and the striped cat was not going to allow her to stay any longer, mostly because after she embarrassed Shifu nationwide, the old kung fu master took it out on his students by being harsher on them and making them train and work twice as hard. Opening her mouth to ask their names and what business did they have to be there, Tigress had no chance to do so because Viper squealed in excitement as she slithered in front of the lioness.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my _gods_! You're _Tia Ra_! I'm a big fan of your work, in fact I have many of your headpieces. I have an entire collection in my room!"

"Uh, thanks?" Tia responded a bit awkwardly, not because of an admiring fan praising her but because this was serious situation.

Zoi took a step forward, determined to get the answers they were looking for. "We are looking for a little, lost boy. I would appreciate the help if-"

"Sorry, there are no children currently studying in the Jade Palace." This came from Tigress and she was not going to let Zai anywhere near the raccoon after what she did to her master. "So go look someplace else."

"You lie!" Surprisingly, these angry words came from Arc. "I know he's here. Where's Snow Cub?"

Tigress narrowed her eyes at the intruders. Snow Cub. Xue Zai. What did they want from Zai? Then it hit came to her, they were the ones who mistreated and abused the child. They wanted him back just so they can abuse the cub again. With her fists gripped to her sides, the tiger stepped forward, menacingly, "Leave. _Now_!"

The rest of the Five followed their leader.

Watching Monkey getting closer, Arc actually took a step back.

"What's the matter?" Zoi asked as she noticed the lion's reaction.

"It's Master Monkey." He answered, sounding a little scared, pointing at the kung fu master.

The golden langur actually seemed proud about seeing someone, an opponent, fear him and cower being at a close range to him because of his reputation as a kung fu warrior.

"So?" Zoi said as she looked at him warily with an arched eyebrow.

"He's a _monkey_! He'll _shit_ and throw it at you!"

Everyone blushed at hearing the embarrassing words and because they were fighting the urge to laugh. Hell, Crane actually stepped away from the simian and off to the side someone actually squeaked inwardly trying to hold in their laughter. Monkey, on the other hand, seemed mortified by the lion's stereotypical words and he was going to make the cat pay for insulting him in front of his friends.

Tigress felt ashamed at herself for allowing to even dare to think the lion's words were funny, specially for letting a peep of laughter escape her lips. "You all better leave or we'll have to force you!" She said cold and sternly.

Then Po stepped forward, "Yeah, you don't wanna mess with us."

"Yikes! And I thought I was brave!" This came from Arc who was all smiles with a big red blush on his face.

"I'm more than brave, I'm the Dragon Warrior"

Arc looked away, the blush on his cheeks intensified as Po got closer.

Here we go again, someone thinks that I'm not to be taken seriously cause I'm a panda.

"Hey, I'll let ya know that-"

"Whoa! Easy there!" Arc placed both of his paws in front of him, still carrying the red blush on his cheeks and a bemused grin.

"What's wrong with you?" Tia asked the lion.

He answered, still with a smile and blush, "Well, it's not everyday a topless woman shakes her knockers in front of my face!"

There was silence but each of the Furious Five blushed and covered their mouths to hold in the uproar of laughter.

"Cut that out!" Po shrieked coming off a bit too much of a paranoid freak.

"Why?" Arc continued, clearly not seeing that the Dragon Warrior is a man. "You have some really nice boobs and I admire you for your bravery for showing them off in public even if they are a bit flat and saggy!" He finished this statement by nodding, agreeing with his own words.

Po, of course, boiled on the inside and took a fighting stance.

"Now you asked for it."

Hearing the panda threatening the young lion, Tia Ra strutted in his direction. Po didn't know what to do; an extremely hot woman was coming his way. He gulped as sweat started leaking down from his face. The lioness stopped as soon as she was right next to him, then she stared at him in the eyes. The panda couldn't help but admire her green eyes, they were that breathtaking, as well as the rest of her body.

Distracted by her beauty, Po didn't notice the lioness grabbing one of the swinging clubs by the chain. He heard metal bending and then snapping, which lead to him seeing the weapon in the feline's grasp. The Dragon Warrior could have been able to at least try to deflect the incoming blow but it seemed either way he wouldn't have stood a chance against her. Tia Ra, with the heavy wooden club in her paw, made a rapid strike and smashed the big hard object (thankfully, not the side with the spikes) by hitting Po on the side of his head.

He stumbled until he collapsed on the ground as blood dripped from a large gash, covered in splinters, where the club made contact. A cloud of dust of the remains of what was once one of the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion covered the panda's unconscious form.

"Next" She said with a smug expression and tone.

"Why you!" Tigress spat those words, ready to cause some serious injury to the tramp standing next to the Dragon Warrior's unconscious body. Then, without warning, the striped feline attacked but Tia evaded her and every other strike the tiger sent her way.

Tigress sent blow after blow but the lioness dodge them effortlessly.

"Kick her ass, Tia!" Arc cheered throwing his fists to the air.

Seeing their leader having trouble with her opponent, the rest of the Five went in aid their fellow warrior.

However, the reporter wasn't going to let any of them harm her friend, so she ordered everyone on her side to help Tia out.

Zoi ran straight for them and pounced on Crane, holding his wings, pinning him against the floor. Arc stepped in front of Monkey and then saying that he should keep his feces to himself, which ended up enraging the simian to the point that he could have believed there was steam coming out of his ears. Viper was not going to harm her fashion idol, so she fixed her gaze on the rabbit heading straight for Tigress. The serpent went for the chef wearing a white dress (that the reptilian found to be her style of clothing). Frankie, finally noticing the reptile coming straight for her, could only gasp as she placed her arms in front of her to block the incoming blow. But it never came because when the serpent was about to attack a blue blur appeared out of nowhere and sent the serpent flying right in to a wall.

Of course, it was Lan Se who defended the rabbit from harm. "Hands off the rabbit!" He said as menacingly as possible, then he remembered who he was fighting, "Uh, sorry".

Frankie sighed, deeply; the cat of her dreams had saved her life and was now defending her. That only left Mantis to take care of the remaining enemy. "I don't think this is a fair fight." Said Mantis as he eyed his opponent, but then she retorted, "You're right, I should wear a blindfold." Twitching his antennae at her comment, Mantis jumped and aimed a powerful kick straight to her face but Frankie made smoke appear out of nowhere and hid herself in it, evading the insect's attack in the process.

And so, the fight was on.

Every punch, kick or strike she threw at her, Tia Ra was able to evade them all. Tigress was getting frustrated, not at the fact that a bimbo was able dodge her every move, though it did, it was the way the lioness evading her attacks: arching her back while bending her neck backwards as well, dropping on one foot while the other is stretched out, turning ninety degrees or laying on the ground with her arms being the only support while her legs were spread out and toes pointed. Add the fact that Tia Ra never lost eye contact with Tigress.

Those eyes, that stare, gave the striped feline chills as they seem to be smiling at her despite the face of the lioness never displayed a smile of its own.

Tigress studied the other cat's movements, it wasn't kung fu: Tia was… she was… posing?

That didn't stop the female tiger, even though most of her attacks never made contact until she finally saw an opening, with all her strength, Tigress threw a punch straight for the lioness' face. And it made contact, making a loud sound of bones crunching.

A loud shrieking scream was heard through the entire training hall, it wouldn't be surprising if the citizens of the valley heard it. Despite that Tia Ra received the blow, it was Tigress who cried out in agonizing pain. The crunching sound actually came from her knuckles as each one of them cracked when they made contact against the lioness' face.

Tia Ra, on the other hand, looked like nothing happened, in fact, her face showed no signs of discomfort and there wasn't even a bruise on the spot where the fist made contact. She looked down on the tiger and said mockingly, "You hit like a guy."

Then, with lightning speed, Tia grabbed hold of Tigress by the wrist, spun her around and slammed her against a wall. The tiger slid down and fell on the floor leaving a silhouette of herself on the wall, which collapsed a few seconds later, leaving a big hole there.

The tiger crumpled on the floor as pain shot throughout her entire body, she then staggered to her feet and signaled the lioness to come forward, even though, her entire body was screaming in pain.

Before Tia Ra pounced on the tiger she heard Zoi's voice as she tried to hold Master Crane in place.

"How are you holding up?"

Zoi actually managed to answer even as she could barely keep the bird from moving, "I've had worse!"

They were both right where they had collided first: Crane was still pinned beneath Zoi. But the raccoon seemed to have neglected to pin his legs, which gave the bird the chance and pushed her away with his legs but he wasn't able to lift himself up. It was like he was glued to the floor. He couldn't free his wings. He gave them a closer look and discovered that he _was_ glued to the ground. "What the…?"

"When I tackled you to ground I poured some of my extra-sticky, fast-drying tree sap on both of your wings." She showed the empty container, and then she talked to him shaking a finger repeatedly up and down like if he were a child, "You just never know when it will come in handy, so you have to be prepared for anything."

Crane tried to free himself from the sticky substance, but he found it rather difficult. Every time he made an effort to lift his wings, it hurt a lot as his feathers were being pulled out of them.

Zoi watching the bird struggle for freedom, walked where her bag had landed on the floor. She then heard something ripping.

Looking back at the avian, he had freed himself from the sticky substance at the cost of many feathers being plucked out of his wings, which has droplets of blood forming in the areas of exposed skin.

With a fast strike of his wing, Crane made the raccoon hit the floor hard by hitting her on the side of her arm.

Zoi let out a somewhat girlish cry of pain as she nursed her bruised arm. The strike came out of nowhere, leaving her no time to evade but that didn't mean she was out.

Crane carefully crept forward, making sure that the raccoon didn't surprise him with anything. Despite knowing not to judge a warrior by his/hers appearance, he thought this fight was just too easy and wanted to make sure his opponent was down for the count.

He loomed over the female checking if her injuries weren't that severe, judging by the way she was nursing her arm.

Zoi took that opportunity and smashed the empty glass container against the floor, making it a sharp weapon, and with a rapid movement she jumped to her feet and sliced through the bird's chest leaving one big horizontal gash.

The bird toppled backwards as he pressed his wing against the leaking wound. He then looked back at the raccoon who was coming right at him, swinging her big bag at him. Crane could only deflect as she hit with her oversized 'purse'. He winced in pain as the raccoon's weapon of choice made contact. _What does she carry in that thing?_

As the pain on his wing increased, Crane decided not to hold back any longer. "No more Mr. Nice Guy!"

"Says the guy who lost his virginity to a watermelon!" She mocked, which seemed to work since the avian was flabbergasted by her words as horror seemed to have taken over his features.

"H-How… how did you…?"

Zoi smirked devilishly, "Finding dirt is what I specialize in!" She knew that if she continued that it would set off the kung fu master but she just couldn't resist. "So, how is the Misses doing or did you ate her after you were done with her?"

She was correct. Right after the words left her mouth Crane started attacking her. Luckily, the second the bird lunged himself forward, Zoi began to run away from him, heading straight for the Jade Tortoise.

In her haste, Zoi almost ran over Arc who was also dealing with another kung fu warrior.

"Behold! The Eye of Karaudo!" Arc said in admiration to the golden orb he held in his right hand.

Monkey just slapped the antique from the lion's grasp and kept swinging his fists at the lion who dodged every blow thrown at him.

"Hah! For disrespecting a sacred item of the God of the masked people you will suffer ten years of erectile dysfunction." There was a pause, "Whatever that is?"

Monkey just kept attacking the feline who kept evading every single attack thrown in his way.

"Hey, can you at least try to hit me with your legs or your feet?" Arc said to the golden langur who stooped dishing out attacks to listen the lion. The archeologist kept explaining his reason for the favor he had just asked, "I don't want you to touch me with your hands because of all of the poo throwing."

Monkey felt even more rage at the lion for his insults. He threw a punch and, finally, made contact with the cat's chest. This made Arc hit the ground and roll backwards until he stopped and laid on his back.

"Ewwwwww! You touched me with your feces covered hands! That's gross!"

Monkey let out a shout of anger as he threw himself at the lion aiming a fist to the cat's face.

Arc quickly shielded his face by placing his arm, in an L-shape, right in front of the incoming fist, just in time. Monkey's punch made a loud gong-like sound as it made contact with the teenager's hidden armor.

The simian cried out in pain as he gripped his now bruised knuckles.

Standing on the tips of his toes and leaning forward to see the damage he caused, Arc was checking out how serious the wound was. "Whoa! That looks like it hurts." He said as he saw the sprained knuckles, then he looked the monkey in the eyes and then asked with eyes opened with innocence gleaming in them, "Do you know what else hurts?" Arc jumped and slammed his elbow down on the monkey's clavicle, shattering it in the process.

"_That_!" Arc said as he looked down to the golden langur. "Maybe _that_ will teach you to wipe your ass properly!"

As Monkey gripped on his shoulder, Arc grabbed him be the sides and started asking questions.

"Where's Tai?" Arc said with a glare that would have frozen anyone with fear.

Ignoring the lion's threatening stare, Monkey had a question of his own, "You mean _Zai_?"

"Zai?"

"Zai." Monkey nodded in acknowledgement.

"No, Tai!"

Tai?

"Yes, that's Snow Cub's name!"

"Snow Cub? ya mean Xue Zai?"

"Who?"

"_The snow leopard cub!_"

"Right, that's Tai!"

Monkey just stared blankly at the feline. What was the deal with this lion? Seeing no better chance, since Arc was still holding him, he took that opportunity and kicked the cat right on the chin with his knee.

Arc hit the ground and let out a big "OWWW!"

The golden langur went straight for him to finish off his opponent by slamming his foot down and hard on the cat's chest, but the lion swiftly used his arm to not only stop the attack but to hurt the monkey in the process.

The impact of the lion's strong, armored arm launched Monkey right against a wall making the weapons hung on it fall on the floor.

Monkey slid down the wall and tried to stand up. Certainly, the lion was more than meets the eye.

He pressed his clavicle and pushed the bone back in place. Ignoring the stinging pain of his broken shoulder, Master Monkey got on his feet and gestured the lion to attack but when he noticed the lion, the feline was facing another direction as he watched and cheered for the cheetah who was fighting Viper in what appeared to be a fight with nothing more than fast strikes and stealthy moves.

The serpent slammed her tail against the floor trying to land the blow on the rather good looking cat. Lan Se was just too fast for her to actually make contact with him.

Unexpectedly, she jumped on to the air and tried to wrap herself on to his leg which actually worked. Viper looked up to the cheetah's face and saw that he was smirking. Shoot! He was expecting that all along!

Lan Se lifted his leg and started spinning it so fast that Viper's coils unwrapped from him and was sent flying, like a flopping wet noodle, on to a support beam.

Letting out a strangled cry from the impact, Viper quickly recovered and eyed her opponent carefully to predict his next move.

As futile as trying to tell what the cheetah was going to do next since he's so fast. The actual reason, though she wouldn't want to admit it, is because she wanted to stare at the handsome feline.

She knew that was dangerous since the last time she let a good looking man distract her cost the victory for her and her friends. That fight, of course, was when she and the rest of the Five fought Tai Lung on the Thread of Hope. She never told anyone but she thought the snow leopard was the hottest man she had ever laid eyes on.

Trying to snap herself out of her fantasy, she closed her eyes.

_Focus, focus. Don't let the man candy distract you._

When she opened them again the cheetah was gone.

Where did he go?

In that instant, Lan Se appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the serpent by the throat and the tip of her body and tied her into a knot around the support beam.

"That ought to hold you!" He said with a rather cocky air.

Maybe he was worrying too much but Lan Se peeped at Frankie's battle with the insect kung fu master.

Mantis was struggling trying to keep up with the rabbit. He may be fast but so are rabbits, and she did it while in a short dress (and not revealing anything) while holding a black cylindrical hat.

"Presto!" Frankie said as she pulled out a piece of fabric out of her hat.

Of all the things she could've pulled out she pulls out a tissue? Mantis saw the opportunity to attack the rabbit and went in with a Mantis kick.

Tigress was having a hard time trying to actually cause harm to her opponent. Suddenly, something rather small and not that hard hit her on the back of her head.

She turned around and saw that it was none other than Mantis laying on his back as his legs twitched.

"Why did you do that?" Tigress snarled.

The insect let out a moan of pain as he nursed his noggin with his pincers. "Excuse me?" He said disbelieving the tiger's words, "It was the rabbit!"

That's right, when Mantis was nearly about to make contact with Frankie, the rabbit revealed her other hand from inside of her sleeve. The chef smacked him with a hidden frying pan.

In that instant Tia Ra grabbed Tigress and held her in the air. The striped feline did everything she could to free herself but the lioness was stronger than her, a fact that made her feel weak.

The lioness suddenly stood on one knee and dropped the tiger mercilessly on it.

Tigress cried out in pain as she crumpled on the ground and gripped the left side of her thighs, the place where she collided with Tia's leg.

The tiger style master took advantage of being at such a close range of the lioness and grabbed her by the ankle and tripped her.

Tia reacted quickly and landed on her palms, keeping her entire body in midair.

Both of them got to their feet and stared each other down while they watched their every move to predict the next attack.

Mantis was still rubbing his head while Frankie chuckled under her breath.

The chef wanted the insect to attack her so she could somehow turn it to her advantage. "Hope you learned to keep an eye for detail work!"

Mantis got on his feet and ran as fast as he could muster looking just like what everyone described him to be in battle: a green blur.

Before Frankie was able to pull something out of her hat, Mantis tripped her by kicking her behind the right knee.

The insect then hopped on top of her and pinned her in place.

Frankie, desperately trying to reach her hat couldn't do anything more than wiggle to free herself and shake the bug off of her.

"The more you struggle the worse it gets." Mantis informed.

Those words were familiar to Frankie, she had heard stories of men who attacked women at night and had their way with them so she knew what was coming next, "Oh, merciful Charlemagne, you're going to rape me aren't you!"

"What? No." Mantis retorted.

Then a blue blur blew the insect away from Frankie.

It was Lan Se who saved her life once again.

"I thought I said 'hands off the rabbit'!" Lan Se said as he looked menacingly at Mantis.

Mantis quirked an eyebrow and gestured his pincer in a no-nonsense matter.

"Dammit, you know what I mean!"

Before Lan Se could launch himself straight for the insect, Viper wrapped herself around his torso, restraining his arms in the process.

He tried to free himself but the serpent tightened her coils the more he struggled. The cheetah was turning blue beneath his fur as his whole body was starting to go numb. His knees started to buckle up to the point that he dropped on them on the floor and seemed to lose consciousness because his vision as well as his hearing became blurred.

"I saw him first, you man-stealer!" Frankie yelled at the serpent while drawing a metallic weapon from her dress and stabbed Viper by the side of her elongated body. This made the reptile release the feline who gasped a deep breath as he supported himself with his arms to not fall on the ground. The rabbit was right by his side to help him up.

He was breathing deeply but otherwise was going to be fine, "Thanks, Frankine!"

"You know you can call me Frankie but you can call me whatever you like!" She said with a blush on her face.

While both the rabbit and cheetah exchanged words, Viper was trying to remove the metallic piece that Frankie stabbed deep within her. Using the very tip of her body she was able to pull it out. She eyed the weapon carefully since she had only seen those before only bigger, it was a small, silver trident.

"Your choice of weaponry is interesting: tridents the size of throwing knives… that's new."

Frankie almost let out a small laugh but kept a grin on her face while she informed the reptilian. "Um, that's not a miniature trident, that's a fork."

A puzzled look entered the serpent's face, "A what?"

"They're for eating… oh right, Chinese eat with chopsticks."

Viper wanted to get to the bottom of things so she started asking questions, "What is it that you want from Zai?"

The rabbit and cheetah looked at each other and blinked in unison. Who's Zai?

Lan Se was the one to ask, "By Zai do you mean Tai?"

"No, his name is Xue Zai." Viper informed.

The chef wanted to know if they were talking about the same person. "We are talking about a snow leopard cub: four years of age, about ye tall, golden eyes, strong language."

"That's the one." Viper agreed with the description.

Before Frankie could continue the conversation, Mantis attacked Lan Se from the back with a powerful kick that sent the feline flying.

"You sneaky jerk!" The rabbit reached for her hat and pulled out a red bottle. Without hesitation she smashed it against the insect, covering him with the red gooey content.

Mantis cried out in pain as the red fluid seemed to burn him.

"My grandmother's special hot sauce… with a hint of my anger: a mixture of flavors so spicy it burns."

The insect couldn't even open his eyes from the burning he felt. Frankie seeing the opportunity decided to run towards him a kick him far away. _Maybe that will teach him not to harm my Lan Se._

Viper seeing the rabbit right in front of her lashed out but the cheetah stopped her by grabbing her by the throat. The reptile strongly wrapped her coils around the length of his arm in a desperate attempt to free herself from his rather strong grip.

"How do you like the taste of your own medicine?" Lan Se whispered to the reptile.

The feline took Viper to the same support beam where he had tied her in a knot to. The serpent smiled, she freed herself earlier she could do it again.

However, the cheetah surprised her by holding her by the throat with his two paws. "I may be devilishly good looking but I'm not stupid."

Then, he slammed the serpent against the wooden structure. All Viper could do was let out a cry of pain. Certainly, the strangers weren't here to play games, they were going to kill if they had to.

By the side of the toppling and spinning Jade Tortoise, Zoi made sure to keep herself crouched but making sure that the giant bowl didn't crush her.

The reason why the big jade object was spinning while tilting, just like how Po did when he fell in it for the first time, is that the reporter pushed it with all her might as soon as she came in contact trying to outrun Crane, though, it was what she intended to do in the first place.

The avian kung fu master was trying to find an opening to attack the raccoon but found it difficult with the Jade Tortoise tilting the way it was.

Zoi made sure that Crane didn't get a clear shot of her by going around the big and round obstacle. The fact that the bird couldn't fly because of the feathers that were yanked out earlier made Zoi an even harder target to hit.

But when there is a will there is a way, so Crane headed in no matter how dangerous it could be, after all, he had sparred on top of the Jade Tortoise on many an occasion, but never on the ground.

All he had to do was to wait for the right moment when the giant bowl gave him an opening leaving the raccoon wide open for an attack.

At last, the opening appeared in front of him and went for it. Crane readied himself to attack Zoi, who was crouching in the gap but she wasn't moving or trying to evade the bird's powerful wings.

Less than a few inches away from each other with Crane swinging his wing to attack, Zoi just smirked evilly.

It was too late for the avian kung fu master to see the reason for her sudden smile. The head of the Jade Tortoise came just in time to block Zoi from the bird's attack and while she was behind the shield, Zoi pulled out a _metsubushi_, a black painted egg, out of her bag. Crane stumbled because of the impact with the big bowl-like obstacle. Once the head passed, Zoi crushed the black eggshell and threw it at the bird's face.

Crane cried out in pain as a screen of smoke that came from the raccoon's hand did more than just burn his eyes, it felt like they were being stabbed by a thousand needles. He rubbed them with his wings but that seemed to intensify the pain.

"Careful, a mist of glass shards can leave anyone blind if careless." She said it casually as she pulled out a _kanabo_ out of her bag.

She held the massive club with metallic spike in her hands but Crane was not aware of that. Zoi ran straight for the blinded bird. In that moment, the avian opened his eyelids a little and saw the incoming raccoon with a weapon in her hands.

Just as Zoi was about to slam the club on top of Crane, he evaded it by jumping backwards. It was a lucky break because the raccoon made a small crater on the floor where he was standing a few seconds ago.

However, Zoi was not going to leave it like that, no, she attack Crane again, this time by swinging the club to his side, trying to crack a few ribs.

This time, the avian was ready and blocked it.

While those two kept swinging away, Arc and Monkey were doing something sort of similar.

Both of them were swinging, mostly fighting, on the hoops chained to the ceiling where Master Monkey usually trains.

The lion stood inside of one of those hoops with a couple of bruises from his battle with the monkey style master. "How is swinging on these things considered kung fu training, anyway?" Arc asked casually like if they were having a conversation.

Monkey, who had a few claw scratches on his arms and bruises on his torso, didn't answer not wanting to enter one of the lion's weird and somewhat uncomfortable conversations.

"Why are you so quite? It's no wonder you're not so popular, if someone makes theatrical show with you as a character, the actor playing you will probably have like four lines to say."

_What the hell is wrong with this kid?_

Not wasting any more time, the kung fu master swung himself towards the lion preparing to kick the feline off the hoop.

Arc beat him to the point, just as Monkey was about to make contact with the cat, Arc let himself slide off the hoop but held on by wrapping his tail around it and then swinging himself to not just land on it again but to kick Monkey off it.

After hitting the floor hard, the golden langur contemplated how the lion had countered his own plan against him.

Arc on the other hand jump off the hoop itself and landed swiftly on his feet and grabbed Monkey by the scruff of his neck.

"So, you are not going to tell me where Tai is, huh?"

"Who's Tai?"

"Wrong answer!" The lion then flicked the simian's nose with his middle finger.

Monkey felt nothing at first but then he felt his stomach was being pummeled, and then his whole body went numb and collapsed on the ground.

"What did you…?"

"You'll be fine," Arc said and then added, "however for the next week whenever you pee it will hurt like hell."

Monkey just laid there like an unwanted rag. Just like that, one of the Furious Five was taken out of the fight.

"Arrrhg, damn you!" Lan Se cried out as he pressed the snake bite he got courtesy of Master Viper.

Viper looked like she was about to pass out considering her eyes were spinning. The reason for that is that Lan Se was a tough opponent.

Arc pulled out another vial, sealed with a cork, out of his backpack, "Hey, Lan Se, catch!" He threw the glass object to the other feline.

"What is this stuff?" The cheetah asked as he eyed the liquid inside the small container.

"It will help you deal with the venom." Arc responded cheerfully.

Hearing that, Lan Se uncorked the vial and drank every drop. _Huh, taste like Pepto-Bismol._

After thanking the lion, the cheetah went in to finish off the reptile who tried to escape from the feline but found it to be futile since he is too fast to outrun (outslither).

He grabbed her by the throat again and saw Zoi trying to hit Crane with a kanabo. He ran where the raccoon was standing and whispered something in her ear without interrupting her fight with the avian kung fu master. Zoi smirked and nodded in agreement to Lan Se's plan.

She let go of her weapon and ran straight for her bag, which according to Lan Se was sealed shut containing Master Viper herself who kept moving around in the bag, trying to escape. Zoi picked up her oversized bag, then seeing why the cheetah wanted to do something so mean, the serpent had bitten the feline, whether it was to win the fight, the reptile had gone too far. _Fighting honorably, my ass!_

Then, unexpectedly, Viper lashed her body trying to escape and ended up hitting Zoi in the gut really hard, knocking all the air she had out of her lungs.

"You are so going to get it now." Zoi said as she nursed her belly.

Zoi gestured Crane to attack and he did. With all his might, he prepared himself and ran for the raccoon who prepared herself to attack with her bag. When he was close enough, the bird striked for the reporter who as planned defended herself from her opponent's wings by using her bag but when they made contact, Crane heard a loud cry coming from the bag itself. Zoi smiled and opened it, revealing who was inside of it: none other than his friend and comrade, Viper. The reporter disdainfully grabbed the unconscious serpent and placed her on the floor.

Crane had enough of the raccoon, so with all of the strength he could harness, he launched himself straight for his opponent wanting to end this battle once and for all.

However, Zoi was thinking the same thing so she did the most obvious thing and lifted her leg and with all her might she stabbed the avian with her high heel when he was about to attack but close enough for her to hit him first. The impact was so powerful that Crane stopped in his tracks and stopped breathing for a few seconds and then he noticed what had just happened as he stared at the raccoon's heel twisting and turning, intensifying the pain as it is, while Zoi gave him a cold stare.

Mercilessly, she removed the spike from the deep wound. With his eyes still widened, Crane fell on the ground and lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was Zoi's hateful and almost evil expression but that could've been his vision fading.

Two more of the Furious Five were out and that only left two more to go.

Zoi asked Lan Se if he was feeling alright after all a snake bite can be pretty serious. The cheetah responded that Arc gave him an antidote. To that the reporter raised an eyebrow. Where did Arc get a specific antidote or medicine to treat snake venom?

She wraps bandages, from her bag, around his wound but not before disinfecting the area. She was determined to know where exactly did Arc got that potion from.

While they were preoccupied, Frankie was trying to dodge Master Mantis' attacks. Both of them were fast but sooner or later one of them won't be able to keep it up any longer. Unfortunately for Frankie that person was her. The insect surprised her by the side, kicking her left check.

Once again, she fell on the ground and checked that she wasn't bleeding but there was a bruise in the spot where Mantis kicked.

"Do you have any idea how much makeup I'll have to use to cover this up? And I'm more into the all-natural look."

Mantis twitched his antennae, he's had enough of the rabbit and he was ready to finish the fight.

However, Frankie was thinking the same thing. Seeing the insect ready to pounce on her, she pulls out a jar of soy sauce from her dress and sprayed it all over Mantis.

It wasn't burning him like the hot sauce from earlier. In fact, it tasted delicious. He thought it did as he licked his lips.

Frankie smiled in a naughty fashion, "Just so you know I made that sauce when felt down in the dumps."

Mantis raised an eyebrow, "So?"

Then he felt sick to his stomach, then he felt a like his whole body was going to explode. He dropped on the floor as he tried to breath, "What was in that sauce?"

"Nothing special… if my tears don't count that is."

All Mantis could do was let out a burp when he tried to retort the rabbit's words. Feeling his whole body go numb, the insect lost consciousness as he moaned loudly.

Four down, one to go.

Tigress had many bruises and cuts all over her body and she could barely stand anymore. The lioness truly was the toughest opponent she has ever faced.

Tia on the other hand had Tigress' claw marks on her right shoulder.

The tiger wasn't going to be able to win this fight if she continued to fight her opponent head-on. She should surprise the other feline with a sneak attack to the back.

Without hesitation, Tigress leaped into the air, over Tia Ra and landed right behind the lioness. Unfortunately for her, the designer knew what she was doing and did a backward flip and landed on her hands, and before the tiger could attack Tia wrapped her legs around Tigress' neck. Using the strength of her arms and redid the flip backward and slammed the tiger style master against the floor in the process.

She couldn't take anymore but that didn't stop her from getting back on her feet and make a stance gesturing her opponent that she was still able to continue fighting despite the fact that her body said otherwise.

Tia just stood there looking at the tiger, her face a stoic mask. Then Arc, Zoi, Lan Se and Frankie joined her by her side. They had bruises and cuts but they were still standing there in front of her knowing that they had already won.

That was when it hit her that her friends were taken down. Trying to fight back would be futile so she did what was left to be done and collapsed on the floor losing consciousness.

Just like that the Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior, were defeated.

"Should we do something about their injuries?" Frankie asked.

"They have personal doctors, don't they?" Arc suddenly said, "Let's just look for Tai."

Each one of them nodded in agreement and left the training hall, leaving the unconscious forms of the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior with their severe injuries and wounds on the floor.

Where could Tai possibly be?

* * *

A/N: Am I the first to make a feces throwing joke about Master Monkey? If so, then Hooray! Kaito means ocean flying in Japanese.

At some point in this story there will be a pilgrimage, so I would like to listen to your ideas for a place in The Underground (name, appearance, law or laws, tradition and culture) because I might include them in a future chapter.

Next time Tai Lung meets Mr. Ping and old enemies will come face to face when Master Shifu and Zoi Zenigata make each other's acquaintance.

Please read and review.


	9. Pays to be Patient

Saw KFP2 and it was good, I wished that there would have been a bit more to it but I think it was good, though I still think many stories here were and are way better. Hopefully, the third will be even better. And I won't have to change anything in my story because the sequel's events do not clash with mine in any way. So, yeah I'm glad!

In the previous chapter I mentioned Viper having fangs/venom despite that in Secrets of the Furious Five was said that she was born fangless and could not have venom, but in the movie when Po is talking to Oogway he mentions Viper having venom, whether that is a mistake of the movie makers for not thinking it through, I just assumed that she did grow her fangs later in her life.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda (but if I did the sequel would have been way better) but I own The Underground.

Chapter 9: Pays to be Patient

* * *

All he wanted was to reach the damn noodle shop. But every time he tried to go on forward, there was someone standing in his way.

Earlier that day he had received wonderful news. Someone had gotten close enough to tell if the Patient One was real and alive, it could still be a hoax, but it was the only lead he had.

When Tai Lung had taken the shortcut through an alley, and missed Arc and the others, he could have sworn he saw a person with a long black robe with strange symbols, holding an umbrella which hid its face but revealed a wide toothy smile.

He was going to ask the stranger if he was looking for trouble but then he heard the people who lived in the building to his left yell words that made him take his attention from the dark figure to a window from a room where all of the commotion seemed to be happening, especially since he heard someone banging against a solid object.

"Harder, harder, harder, I said HARDER!"

"Yeah, you know you love this, dontcha!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAH!"

"I told you, no one can hammer nails into wood better than me!"

The snow leopard was blushing so hard because of the inappropriate thoughts that had fogged his mind at hearing the beginning of the conversation that he had completely forgotten about the stranger in the alley.

When Tai Lung turned his attention back to the dark figure, finally snapping out of that inappropriate reverie, it wasn't there anymore but in its place was the weird panther from the other day. Alvar was it?

"Why hello there, little one! Did you enjoy the soup?"

"Did you just see someone wearing a black robe with an umbrella?" Tai Lung asked.

"I have not seen anyone with that description in the whole day." The panther answered with his smooth and unaccented voice.

"But he was right in front of me just a few seconds ago and then," the snow leopard stopped talking and then eyed the panther suspiciously, "and then you were standing in front of me."

"It couldn't have been me. You will never catch me wearing anything that ridiculous!"

To that Tai Lung raised an eyebrow and took a good look at how the panther was dressed, just like the other day, wearing a chainmail and steel plates.

"Yeah, me neither." The snow leopard said slowly but sarcastically at the same time.

"Where are you headed, young one?"

"I am going to pay a visit to a Mr. Ping, he owns-"

"…a noodle shop." The dark feline finished.

Both of the snow leopard's ears stood up in excitement, the panther could be of use to him. "Yes, do you know him?" He couldn't keep the eagerness off his voice.

"Know him? That bowl of noodles I gave you the other day was made by him!"

"Can you take me to where he is? His noodle shop I presume."

"Of course I will take you there!" The older feline gestured the young cat to follow him.

Tai Lung's face lit up with even more excitement and hope. He followed the panther out the alley and into a crowd of people doing their errands, shopping, working or simply just conversing with their friends.

Alvar was hard to keep up with; the snow leopard quickly lost sight of the dark cat. Everywhere he looked there was another villager, standing too tall for him to see where he was heading (odd as that may sound since he used to be taller than all of them and now he had to look up to see their faces).

Just as easy as that, Tai Lung lost the panther in the crowd.

Then he heard a raspy voice that whispered in his ear something that made his blood turn cold, "Tai Lung, come with me."

Turning his attention to where the voice had come from, Tai Lung found no one next to him.

"It's alright, you can trust me." The raspy voice again came from nowhere.

The last thing Tai Lung would ever do is trust someone let alone a complete stranger whom he knew nothing. Then again, the people in The Underground were strangers to him and they have treated him better than the people he once called his family.

"Just follow my voice."

He obeyed and followed by concentrating and listening to the fading whispers that came from beyond the crowd of people.

It lead the snow leopard to, despite being the middle of the day, a dark alley. He couldn't see anything in there until a pearly white, toothy smile widened in the darkness as it seemed to float in the air. It was the same smile the freak with the umbrella had plastered on its face. Then it spoke with the same raspy voice he had just heard calling him.

"Come with me." Its mouth never opened and yet words came out of it.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Tai Lung asked standing just outside of the alley not wanting to enter it just in case it was a trap.

Then someone placed their hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw who it was: a complete stranger, to be more specific, an old lady who smiled at him happily. Despite the pig's warm expression, Tai Lung couldn't keep his discomfort hidden from his face. He peeked back at the dark alley to see if the smiling freak was still there but there was no sign of anyone in there.

"You're that little boy, the one who saved us from the gang of underwear models." The old lady said with a warm smile.

"Yes, that was me, and you are?"

"My name is Hui, my dear, and I just wanted to thank you for your great deed the other day."

"Uh, um, you're welcome?" Tai Lung didn't knew where this was going.

"I saw you on the street and decided to give you something to show my appreciation!"

'You don't have to give me anything." Tai Lung had better things to do than waste his time listening to an old woman's words.

"Nonsense." She handed him a tray of cookies but not just any kind, these had little pieces of chocolate in them.

Instantaneously, his eyes widened as he gazed upon . It was just like he remembered from his childhood, the same ones that Shifu had once brought him from the valley. How he loved these cookies.

"Thank you" he then gave her a smile, the kind that little children displayed when they were happy.

Hui looked happy just seeing the cub happy as well, "If there is anything else I can do to repay you just let me know."

"Oh that won't be… um, actually, I need to visit someone by the name of Mr. Ping, could you help me find his noodle shop?"

"Of course, I know where he lives, I'll take you there myself." She gestured the boy to follow her, so he did.

Finally, someone seemingly normal was helping him.

She guided him through crowds of people, but unlike the panther, she made sure to hold his paw.

They passed by many houses and stores until they both heard a loud crash behind them, which made them turn around.

The sound had come from a bunch of logs that had spilled from a loading cart.

"Oh, these darn things!" An old goat exclaimed as he witnessed his cargo spill on the ground.

"Dong, are you alright?" Hui called out to the old man.

"Yes, none of them fell on me this time."

Tai Lung crossed his arms, "Are you going to take me to Mr. Ping or not?" He said with impatience rising in his voice.

The two elderly villagers were conversing while the snow leopard was at the brisk of going insane. _Just for once, I would like to meet someone who is willing to help me that is useful… or sane._

"Can you please take me to Mr. Ping? _Now!_" Tai Lung's patience was running out pretty fast.

"I can't leave my friend like this." The old woman answered.

Tai Lung muttered a curse under his breath and started picking the fallen logs and properly placed them back on the cart.

_Might as well get this over with_. He thought to himself as he pulled the full cart, "So where do you need the logs to be delivered?"

The old man pointed to the direction and the snow leopard followed.

Hui smiled proudly at the boy, "Oh, such a good boy indeed!"

* * *

The sun was setting and it would be nighttime soon.

Master Shifu was looking for his soon-to-be-son outside of the seamstress shop, he still couldn't believe she expected him to spend that much yuan on clothing and he couldn't believe either that he stayed about an hour trying to make the woman lower the prices, but she never did.

After deciding that he would not purchase such expensive garments he wanted to know what Zai wanted instead but when the red panda noticed that the boy wasn't there, Shifu panicked, thinking that someone must have taken the cub. It was something that he has experienced in the past, some lowlife kidnaps a helpless being that he cared about for a ransom.

Despite feeling scared, if that is what happened, he was going to keep his cool and look for the boy himself. Maybe he wasn't kidnapped, maybe he just wondered outside out of curiosity. And so, he walked down the streets to see any sign of Xue Zai anywhere.

He searched high and low but nothing.

Now he was starting to get worried.

To calm down some of his stress he decided to have some tea. That's why he was at Mr. Ping's noodle shop, to ease his nerves.

He sipped down a whole cup before a certain friendly goose greeted him.

"Hello, Master Shifu!"

The red panda nodded once, "Mr. Ping,"

The goose noticed the master's somewhat worried expression, "Is something troubling you?" He then gasped, "It's not the tea, is it?"

"No, the tea is fine."

"Then what's the matter?"

"This very morning I discovered that my students had brought a child from the streets, the one who singlehandedly took down the bandits from yesterday."

"You mean "The Patient One" that everyone in the valley is talking about?"

"The vary same, and he has a name: it's Xue Zai." He said the boy's name with pride as if he were already his son.

"Then where is he?" The noodle maker said looking around for the boy, "I would like to meet him."

Master Shifu's expression changed once more to wariness, "I don't know where he is, one second he was next to me I turn around and he is nowhere to be found."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later, maybe he is just curious to know more about the valley."

"Maybe I should get going and keep looking for him", he got up and thanked the goose for the tea and wonderful service. But, before he reached the outer entrance of the restaurant, he heard the voice of the person he never wanted to cross roads with ever again.

"Leaving so soon, Master Shifu?"

He stood there, on the entrance like a statue, his eyes opened as wide as they could, his mouth moving soundlessly, he hoped that whoever it was wasn't who he thought it was. He turned around slowly only to find out that the person's identity truly was that one person he never wanted to greet again.

There, sitting at a table in one of the corners, was Zoi Zenigata brushing her hair and smoothening it, and by the way she looked like the red panda could swear she was in a bar brawl but that can't be , she is not the kind of person who gets into fights, she causes them and watches from the sidelines. Her face had the same glint in her eyes that displayed mischief that he had seen the very last time he saw her.

Putting himself back together, the red panda found his voice and answered her, but kept his cool, he was not going to give her of all people any reason whatsoever to humiliate him, "If I wish to leave this establishment it is my choice and my decision only, now tell me Mrs. Zenigata, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Who? Me? I came here because a little someone needed to be rescued from his abusive father."

He knew her and he knew that he should never trust anything that came from her mouth. However, Zoi continued.

"I'm here because a snow leopard cub was abused by his father who abandoned him and left him for dead and I am going to make that lowlife pay for it." She glared at the red panda, she let him know what her intentions were and that was to punish him for what he did to Tai. Zoi wanted to let him know what she was up to, she was going to make him, Master Shifu, Tai's father, suffer for what he did to the boy.

Shifu, on the other hand, understood something else. The raccoon knew Xue Zai but more importantly she knew who his father was and wanted justice to be served. He eyed her closely but found that by the way she had said it and by her body language that she was telling the truth.

The reporter kept glaring at him with a blank stoic face. She then got up from her chair and walked in his direction stopping right in front of the old kung fu master. Both of their eyes locked gazes until Zoi called over Mr. Ping over her shoulder with her usual warm expression, "Thank you for your help, kind sir!"

"It was my pleasure, ma'am!" Mr. Ping answered all the way from his kitchen.

Shifu eyed her closely, she _did_ look like she was in a fight, her clothes seemed a bit ragged with a few smudges of dirt, her neck tie was a bit loose and… was that blood stains on her shoe heel?

"What on Heaven's name happened to you?" The red panda finally asked the reporter.

"Oh, nothing much," she started circling him, "I just stumbled upon a minor interference trying to save the cub from his abusive, non-caring, lowlife and cruel father." Despite that she had said everything with a level voice, she wanted to spit them at Shifu.

If _she_ looked like a wreck, whoever this interference was must have turn out worse.

Besides her appearance, the old red panda was just astonished by the reporter's words. Maybe she isn't going to cause him any trouble. Though, that didn't stop him from having a chill run down his spine when she walked right passed him. He certainly didn't trust her and he was going to keep a close eye on her, especially, since her reason for being in the valley was because of Zai's welfare… and to punish his father.

He looked at far away mountains and saw only a small portion of light coming from the sun as it hid behind a mountain. Finding the cub could be easy since there is no other snow leopard besides him in the entire valley, except Zoi had mentioned that the boy's father needed to pay for the way he treated his child, so there could be more leopards in the valley than the last time he remembered. In other words, searching for the boy could take longer than he thought. He was going to need the help from his students in order to find Zai as fast as possible.

"Why don't you take a seat next to me, Shifu? I have a feeling we are going to exchange words for a while." Zoi said, giving Shifu chills.

"I'm a little busy at the moment."

Hearing his response she quirked an eyebrow with an all-knowing look with the addition of a smirk, "Suit yourself!"

Despite the look on her face, Shifu was able to see right through her expression. She _was_ going to stir up trouble. So, it would be wise to stay and listen to whatever she tells, he could somehow discover what she is planning before it's too late.

He took a seat next to her. "Oh, a sudden change of heart?"

He remained as stony as ever, "It appears so."

"Mr. Ping," Zoi called the goose.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Can you please bring me some of your best tea?"

The goose nodded and went in to the kitchen.

The reporter turned her attention back to the red panda and smirked as she told him something, "The people here are as nice and as informative as I remember."

To that the red panda felt an instant chill. What has Zoi done on that day up to this very point? "Did you interrogate someone?" He asked her sounding very concerned.

She didn't make eye contact with him but he could see the joy of making the red panda nervous written in her face, "Shifu, I am a reporter, I _interview_ people, it is what I do."

"Who did you interrogate?" Now he was sounding desperate and scared.

"Now you are starting to sound paranoid to me. Do not worry, it is not like if I threatened any villager to get the answers I was looking for. Besides, I only interviewed one person."

He raised an eyebrow, "And who may that someone be?"

Before answering him, Mr. Ping cut in between them and placed a tray with a cup and a teapot (guess what's in it). "Your tea is here."

"Thank you!" She said with gratitude. The goose innocently bumped his wing against her injured arm, making her wince in pain as she gripped it tightly, her face displayed pain in a way that she tried to maintain it hidden.

She quickly gathered herself and acted like _that_ hadn't even happened.

"Now, why are down here in the valley, your fancy clubhouse is not good enough for you… like everything else?" She said the last part with so much venom that Shifu wondered if she had already done something to humiliate him. He eyed her suspiciously. Her last comment was a sign that she still couldn't be trusted in any way.

However, he was _not_ going to react to her words, especially knowing the consequences of doing so.

_Oh, the hell with it!_

He opened his mouth to unleash a ton of angry retorts until they both heard an ear-piercing shriek coming from the counter.

* * *

_A few minutes earlier_

He was glad that was over with. Whenever he was done helping someone with their errands another person seemed to need assistance.

When he finished delivering Dong's cart a lady had asked him if he could help her son down from a tree he had climbed on but couldn't get down from. After that people just kept coming to ask him favors and spent the majority of his time trying to avoid them.

Now he stood right outside of Mr. Ping's noodle shop. Hui had stood by his side all the time to lead him to where he had been urging to go, "Here we are, dear, now take good care of yourself!"

The snow leopard waved her off but remembered to thank her for helping him, despite of every distraction that occurred, and continued his search for the owner of the noodle shop. He took a peek inside and found Alvar leaning against the counter talking to whoever listened to him.

The snow leopard strode forward to the dark cat, without noticing Zoi or Shifu sitting at a table in the corner, "You were supposed to lead me here. Why the hell did you left me back there?"

"Huh," The panther looked down and noticed the angry cub, and then responded with a heavy accented voice, "You asked _Alvar_, not me. So if you have a problem with him because he ditched you earlier, take your frustration out on him but not me."

There was a silent pause.

Still in the pause.

"What. The. Fuck."

"Oi, Tai, here you are! I was starting to think you got lost." The panther's unaccented voice returned.

"I did got lost you dumbass!" Tai Lung snapped, "And what is it with 'I should have asked Alvar'? You're Alvar!"

"No, my name is Xovius." The panther answered with the accented voice.

"What? You told me your name was Alvar!"

"It is." The dark cat said with his unaccented voice.

"_You just told me it's Xovius!_" The cub snapped angrier than before.

The panther blinked a few time and stayed quiet until he said with his unaccented voice, "Did Xovius told you that?"

Tai Lung let out a shriek of rage as he pounced on the panther and started mercilessly punching his chest, which didn't do much because of the chainmail the dark feline wears. The panther could only lay on the hard floor as the cub unleashed his fury on him.

"Get off of him, this instant." A pair of hands grabbed Tai Lung by the waist and pulled him away from the panther, "I will not tolerate violence of any kind… but I'm so glad you're alright." It was Zoi the one holding him.

Shifu helped the panther up to his feet while the cat himself looked ready to toss his last meal. "That is one strong child. I think I'm going to feel this in the morning." He said it rubbing his, probably bruised, chest.

"What happened?" Mr. Ping asked as he ran out of the kitchen, "I heard someone scream and then a clatter of metal objects. Are unattended children playing with my woks again?"

"It is alright Ping," Shifu reassured him, and then casted a paternal glare at the snow leopard, "the only child causing trouble would be this young man over here."

Tai Lung's ears pricked upward at hearing the name of the man he had been searching for the whole day. The goose standing next to Shifu and Alvar (or Xovius) was Mr. Ping himself. Now all he needed to do was ask him about his encounter with the Patient One.

"Why did you attack him, young man?" Zoi asked the snow leopard levelly but with authority.

"He was mocking me!" Tai Lung answered with a hint of anger as he pointed at the dark feline.

The panther explained himself with the unaccented voice, "I wasn't mocking you but I'm sorry if anything I said offended you."

"He accepts your apology." Zoi told the dark feline on behalf of the child, "Don't you?"

Tai Lung grumbled so many curses under his breath he was surprised Zoi didn't chastise him for it but was even more surprised Shifu didn't, especially with those huge ears of his.

The panther not wanting to cause any trouble decided it was time to go, "I better get going, it was nice helping you out little guy."

_You didn't help me, you ditched me!_

Tai Lung freed himself from the raccoon's protective embrace. Shifu noticed Xue Zai and strode towards him. Expecting some sort of punishment, the snow leopard was surprised when the red panda hugged him. "I'm so glad you're alright." Shifu said with a sigh of relief.

Zoi wasn't buying the caring father act, so, in a desperate attempt to keep that soulless monster away from the scarred child, she came between them, "I am taking you away, far away from your father."

_How did she know- wait, she must think that Shifu is Tai's father. She still not aware I'm Tai Lung._

He admired Zoi's loyalty and caring personality but if she took him away from the Valley of Peace then he won't be able to get the revenge against those who hurt him.

Tai Lung wasn't going to let her ruin his plans and if he was going to make Shifu suffer, he might as well make it sting twice as much when he does take his revenge, "No, I want to stay with my Baba."

Shifu felt tears brimming in his eyes. Zai had called him "Baba". It was more than official, he was not going to waste any more time, he was going to do all of the paperwork and fill every adoption form, he was proudly going to make Xue Zai his son.

Zoi, on the other hand, saw something else. The scars that Shifu had left on Tai were deep, deeper than she thought. The boy was too scared to disobey his father who most likely threatened the child in order to stay quiet.

"You found him!" An excited voice suddenly was heard from behind them.

Tai Lung turned his head and saw Arc standing at the entrance of the restaurant bouncing excitedly at the cub. Tai Lung noticed a big bruise on the lion's chest and a few blood stains on his shirt.

"Everyone he's over here!" The lion called out.

"Everyone?" The cub asked.

Then the rest of the people he had met at The Underground, Tia Ra and Frankie plus a cheetah dressed in blue, came through the entrance and gathered next to him. Something that caught his eye was the fact that they all had injuries, not severe ones but wounds that looked like they were in a battle of some sort.

The cheetah approached the cub and smiled at him, "So, you're the little guy everyone was worrying about!"

"Worrying?" Tai Lung couldn't believe it, people actually _cared_ about him.

"That's right!" This came from Frankie who embraced the cub in a tight hug, "We were worried sick about you. We thought something bad happened to you."

Then it was Tia Ra who held him like if he were one of her children and gently embraced him, placing him on her chest while his head rested on her shoulder, "But we're glad you are unharmed."

So that was how it felt to be hugged by a loving mother.

"Come on Snow Cub, let's go back, we have the whole world to explore!" Arc said as he threw his arms in the air when he mentioned "the whole world".

Master Shifu strode forward in front of the cub, feeling threatened that the lion might convince Zai to join him and leave, "I'm afraid he won't be doing anything of the sort, he's staying with me, his father, at the Jade Palace."

Arc looked from the red panda, to Tai, who looked slightly guilty, "Is that true?"

"Yes." The cub answered him avoiding eye contact because he knew how the lion's face had to be screaming the word "betrayed" and he didn't want to see his friend look at him in disappointment.

There was silence until…

"Then, that only leaves one option," Arc said and then turned to Shifu, "Master Shifu, I would like to become a student at the Jade Palace."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

Master Shifu, on the other hand, remained stoic and under control, "Alright, but you will need to show me what you already know and what you are capable of."

Arc knew exactly what would impress him, "I kicked Master Monkey's ass today. Is that good enough to get a full scholarship there?"

"What?"

"I did, and the rest of the Furious Five were creamed by them." Arc pointed at his friends and added, "But Tia was the one to take out the Dragon Warrior."

"WHAT?"

Shifu looked at the people accompanying the lion. _Impossible, there is no way they could defeat my students, masters of kung fu!_

But then he noticed their appearance, they were in a battle, and he hasn't heard word from his students ever since he came down from the palace. He looked up at Zoi, who hadn't said a word until she caught his look, "Like I said 'I stumbled upon a minor interference'."

Those words made his ears slump down against his head and made his blood turn cold as he realized the lion's words were true.

To the side of things, Ping was asking Tia, Frankie, Lan Se and Zoi about his son and wanting to know if he was unharmed. "Is Po alright?"

Hearing that Tai Lung found another way Mr. Ping could be even more useful: he was the Dragon Warrior's father, a weakness, someone he could use as bait or a shield. He grinned widely as he came up with all kinds of ways he could use the goose for his advantage, but first he needed to know about the Patient One, so vengeance had to wait. But, besides plotting his revenge, he looked at Tia Ra with admiration, she had done something that he could not and that was defeat the Dragon Warrior.

"Hey, am I good enough to study at the Jade Palace or what?" Arc kept insisting, trying to win over the red panda.

Shifu had no idea how to answer the young feline. His biggest concern was his students' welfare. Were they alright?

Arc interrupted his thoughts by slapping him in the face rather hard, "So, what do you say? Am I in?"

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter took a while but it was because I was busy with my education. Hui means brightness/splendor. Someone knows Tai's secret and Zoi and Shifu will most likely kill each other before the day is done.

What do you think is going to happen next? Will Arc be accepted as a student? Who else will join him as a student at the Jade Palace? And will Tai Lung get to ask Mr. Ping about the ghost encounter? Find out next time.

Read and review please.


	10. New Students

Thank you for reviewing, everyone, they let me know that I should continue writing this story despite my busy schedule. I'll take your comments and try to better my story with them, however, I will not tolerate flames or hateful/cynical comments, if you don't like my story then don't read it. Sorry it took longer to update than expected, my computer was out of commission for a whole week. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground.

Chapter 10: New Students

* * *

Sunlight shined across her face which made her wake up and feel pain, something that she rarely felt if she even felt pain at all. Tigress was in her bedroom in the barracks, she also noticed that all of her wounds were attended for and someone had put her injured knuckles in a cast which were signed by someone named "Arc" and above the name it said "Get well soon!" _Wait, isn't that the name of the lion we fought?_

That reminded her of the rest of the Furious Five and Po. Were they okay?

She then felt something moved beside her, underneath the blanket. Tigress pulled the sheets away and discovered that it was Master Monkey sleeping in her bed. In her bed. Next to her. _In her bed!_

"Monkey, wake up!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. That apparently worked because it made him wince in pain. Tigress let go of her grip on him when she realized one of his shoulders was severely injured. But she also noticed that the cast he had was on the wrong shoulder. Only an idiot could mess something that serious! Then, she noticed that is was also signed by Arc, except this one said "No hard feelings… but I expect you to wipe properly from now on!"

"Where are the others? And what are you doing in my room, sleeping in my bed, with me still on it?"

"I don't know. I can't remember how I got here. All I do remember is fighting that smartass lion and then… everything went black."

"And the others?" Of course, Tigress meant the other members of the Furious Five and Po. Were they okay? Were they even alive after the intense battle from the other day?

Suddenly, they both heard moans of pain coming from the other bedrooms. That solves that mystery.

"Do you think Master Shifu treated our wounds?" Monkey asked as he finally noticed the bandages and the cast placed on the wrong shoulder.

She eyed the notes and signatures written on their casts, "I don't think so." The tiger pointed at the signature on her cast.

"_Him?_" Monkey said incredulously. "What the- he put the cast on my uninjured shoulder!"

"But why would he help us?" The tiger asked herself out loud.

Before they could exchange any more words, the gong rang, and as the good students that they both are, they jolted for the door to greet their master like every other morning. And they weren't the only ones, the rest of the Five were standing in the hallway, with their injuries already treated as well, with notes and signatures of the lion someplace written on their bandages, and by the spot where they were standing, the tiger and monkey were not the only ones who were sharing a room for the night. However, there was no sign of Po.

The door of the bedroom next to Tigress' opened and the panda, with a lot of bandages wrapped around his head and a cone circling his neck, dragged himself into the hallway, quite obviously in pain despite that he had no injuries on other body parts besides the huge gash on the side of his head.

They all looked like they were trampled by a stampede of elephants. Crane and Viper walked (and slithered) out of Monkey's room, the bird's chest was wrapped in bandages as well as the areas where his feathers were ripped off while the one that was broken was hanging in a sling. The reptile's makeup was smeared all over her face while the only place she had bandages was where the rabbit had stabbed her with a fork. Mantis who walked out of his room was wobbling, a fact that stated that he had not healed from his injuries but that wasn't what made him stand out it was because he wasn't green, he was as red as a pomegranate. Maybe it was that hot sauce the rabbit spilled on him?

Nevertheless, they were able to greet their master just like every other morning.

The old red panda stood at the end of the hallway like every morning but this time Xue Zai was standing next to him, "My students, I am here to inform you all that today new students will be arriving at the Jade Palace."

Unsurprisingly, his students looked at each other and blinked simultaneously after hearing their master's sudden news.

"When will they arrive?" Crane asked with interest. He was interested in who would be joining them and by the look of Po's face, even with all of the bandages, he also wanted to know.

At that moment, a door opened and the very same lion from the other day walked out of it. "Hi there!" The teenager said as he smiled and waved at them.

The kung fu warriors just stared back at the feline with their jaws, and beak, hanging open. Viper on the other hand was flabbergasted by the fact that the lion, most likely, spend the night in _her_ room because that is where he walked out from.

The female tiger was the only one to regain her composure to ask what was on everyone's mind.

"Master, what is _he_ doing here?" Tigress demanded the red panda as she glared at Arc, only to get a "what did I do?" look from the lion.

Before the tiger said or did anything else, Master Shifu gave her the answer everyone wanted, despite that it wasn't the answer they wanted to hear, "That would be because _he_ is one of the new students who will be joining us in the journey of understanding kung fu."

"What?" All of his students blurted out at the same time, even Po.

"Master, he had something to do with our injuries." Tigress said in an accusatory manner.

"I know, but he also treated them afterwards." The red panda simply responded.

"He put the cast in the wrong shoulder!" Monkey yelled pointing at his broken clavicle and at the wrongly placed cast.

"I did?" Arc asked then walked towards Monkey and without thinking it any further the cat gripped the golden langur's injured shoulder which made the simian cry out hysterically in pain, "Huh, I guess I did."

The red panda continued talking, after all, there were more important things he needed to announce, "And do not forget, there will be a few more joining the Jade Palace, so I expect they are greeted with the uttermost respect."

"Huh?" This came from Arc, "Who are they?"

Yes, Arc had not been informed of the fact that there were going to be new students at the Jade Palace besides him.

"However, one of those new students is already here." The red panda continued and then turned his attention to the snow leopard cub beside him.

Arc's face lit up as soon as the old master gestured the young feline with a proud fatherly gaze. He wasn't the only one, the Furious Five and Po, even with all the bandages around his head, also displayed an exciting expression on their faces.

Shifu turned his attention back to his pupils but someone was standing right in front of him. How he got so near the old master without him hearing the cat, he didn't know. It was the teenage lion, who was eyeing the red panda closely.

"Is something wrong, Master Arc?"

The lion snickered, finding the honorary title the red panda had just given him hilarious. _'Master Arc'!_

"I was curious about something." The teenager told the old master.

"What is it?" Shifu asked raising an eyebrow with curiosity.

Unexpectedly, Arc reached for the red panda's ears and squeezed them, "I want to know how these feel!"

Everyone was flabbergasted by what they were witnessing: an undisciplined teenager invading their master's personal space but the red panda didn't seem bothered by it. In fact, Shifu was smiling at the youth's curiosity.

The old master actually chuckled, "Well, it seems all cats are attracted to my ears!"

He needed to laugh especially with everything that had occurred the other night.

* * *

_Last night_

"So, what do you say? Am I in?"

Master Shifu placed a palm on his throbbing cheek and stared at the lion, who had just slapped him there. Looking at the teenager's face he saw that there was no malice in the feline's innocent and almost child-like facial expression of complete cluelessness. Did he even know who he had just hit in the face? Probably not by the way the lion just kept staring at him with his hopeful eyes waiting for an answer or he truly was that clueless.

Shifu felt someone pulling on his sleeve. It was Zai. "Baba, please let him stay, he's my friend!"

The red panda stared at the cub who pulled his bottom lip out and was looking at him with big sad eyes. Shifu couldn't say no to that face.

"Fine." He huffed in defeat, "You will start training tomorrow."

"Yay!" Excitedly Arc held Tai Lung in a strong embrace. He was going to stay with his new friend after all.

Zoi whispered in Tia Ra's ear, "We cannot let Shifu stay with Tai, even if Arc will be there to look out for him. We have to find a way to stay near him to keep a close eye on things."

Tia agreed with her friend. Shifu may fool the villagers and scare Zai to the point that he was too afraid to stand up to his father, but the lioness was not going to allow him get away with his mistreatment to children. And then it hit her, she knew how to keep a close eye on everything without having to be there all the time.

The lioness told the raccoon about her plan and Zoi agreed that it was a good idea or at least the best they had for now.

"I'll head for Gibaria now and tell _them_ of our plan." Tia Ra told her friend, "You make sure to tell Frankie, Lan Se and Arc."

"You got it." Zoi agreed.

Tia Ra went off to the secret entrance to The Underground to search for the people who would help her.

Arc actually looked a little apologetic while he scratched the back of his head, "Well, since I'll be staying at the Jade Palace that means that I have to go up there and apologize to the Furious Five for leaving them making pools of blood on the floor."

"What?" Shifu blurted out. _Just exactly how severe were their wounds?_

Arc called over his friends, Frankie, Zoi, and Lan Se, "How about if we go over there and treat their wounds. It's the least we could do." Then he added, "And, tomorrow I don't want them to hold a grudge against me."

"We might as well!" Lan Se agreed with the lion, if Arc was going to stay close the Furious Five she might as well help him to make sure they don't hold a grudge against him or any of his friends.

Zoi, on the other hand, wasn't leaving Shifu alone with Tai, so she stopped the rabbit chef not just to inform her of what Tia Ra went off to do but also to tell her what she was scheming.

"Be careful." Frankie said to the raccoon and followed the two felines heading for the Jade Palace.

Mr. Ping had just kicked out the last client he had and apologized for it mentioning that 'a family matter had just come up' and closed the noodle shop, "I better close shop early and help your friends Miss. I hope Po is alright."

"Ping, you're closing early today?" A heavy voice said from the street of the valley. It was a yak who looked like he had a hard day at work and was about to explode in a series of curses or beat up anyone who crosses roads with him.

"Yes, I have to, my son needs me!" Distress was all over the goose's voice.

The yak started to complain, "Your son is the Dragon Warrior, he can take care of himself. I came here for a nice meal after a rough day and I expect to get some damn service!"

Zoi stepped forward, "With all due respect sir, you should not use language like that in the presence of children." She said in a respectful manner.

The yak, on the other hand (hoof), got angrier and snapped at the reporter, "How dare you talk back to a man without being asked! Learn your place, woman, and maybe any child of yours will turn out normal!"

Zoi stood there silent without displaying any sort of emotion. Shifu, on the other hand, knew that the yak had crossed the line. He knew because that was the very same reaction he got from her the very last time he insulted her on her mothering skills and he suffered the consequences for doing so.

He feared what was going to befall the foolish man but he had more pressing matters to attend to: his students.

Mr. Ping apologized to the unhappy customer, who walked away blurting out curses, and went up the steps to the palace with Tai Lung by his side, after all, the snow leopard wanted to know a few things from the goose. That left Shifu and a certain reporter all alone in the streets.

"Whatever you are up to Zoi, don't do it." Shifu warned her without sounding menacing.

"Do not do what?" She said innocently, her face not showing any sign of emotion.

He didn't care if he did come off as menacing, he was not going to let her harm someone, "I'm warning you, don't do anything you'll regret!"

There was a silent pause until the reporter spoke up.

"Shifu, I am not afraid of you…" She let that sink in as he stared at her wide-eyed after hearing her comment, her words were cold as ice and she was calm like it didn't matter if she were talking to the emperor himself, but then she continued, this time she stared directly into his eyes, "Are you afraid of me?"

That sent chills down his spine. The temperature seemed to have dropped down that he was able to see his own breath. He just stood there quiet without moving a muscle.

"You should be aiding my friends right now, your students need it." Zoi said without a trace of emotion in her voice.

He did as she said. How did she do it? How was she able to break him so easily? To make him fear the effect of anything he does in her presence? He didn't know if the rumors about her were true but he had experienced enough to tell that he should never again anger her.

That was the last time Shifu saw her.

* * *

After waking up from an awkward moment in that same morning to the revelation that new students shall arrive at the Jade Palace, each of the warriors settled in the kitchen where they were greeted by none other than Frankie French Fry. The rabbit had cooked them a gourmet breakfast not just as a peace offering but more as a way for the kung fu warriors not to give her and her friends a hard time. Mantis, on the other hand (pincer), looked wary. Her food did most of the damage done to him the other day.

Tigress, once again, asked the question everyone was wondering, "Master, is she one of the other students that will be joining us?"

Shifu answered her, "No, Frankine is-"

"That's Frankie French Fry to you!" The rabbit not only interrupted but corrected the old master.

"Um, right, Frankie French Fry is here to prepare us a meal as a way to apologize for her actions yesterday."

_The Frankie French Fry! _Po thought as he took a better look at the rabbit. He had heard of her from his father whenever the goose tried to use a new recipe and failed miserably saying: "Frankie French Fry can make anything into food, why can't I?"

Frankie tried to look as apologetic as she could, "Well, I thought this little guy over here," she gestured at Tai Lung, "was in danger and I did whatever I could to save him, so don't hold a grudge against me."

The Five eyed her closely, especially Mantis, who was still feeling sore from tasting her sauces. But, how could they fault her and her friends since they were worried about Xue Zai's welfare.

She served them all a plate of breakfast, the food looked so appealing to the eye some of the warriors couldn't help but drool at the beautiful display of culinary artistry.

"I hope you enjoy it because a meal like this would cost you a fortune. Dig in!"

Before everyone tasted the food Arc asked Monkey if he had washed his hands only to get an annoyed expression out of the golden langur.

They did as Frankie had said and took bites out of the breakfast. It was the most delicious meal they have ever tasted. They somehow felt the love that was used to make the food and it made them feel happy and somewhat warm on the inside.

They all released moans of pleasure as they chewed, tasted and swallowed the delicious food. Po hated to admit it but the rabbit gave him and his father a run for their money when it came to making a delicious meal.

Like always, Po couldn't help meeting someone who was well known, especially since that person knew how to fight and take on a kung fu master, and come out winning, "So where did you learn how to fight, with you being a such a famous chef and all?"

The rabbit was checking on the food left on the stove, she never turned her back but she answered his question, "I travel a lot and since I could run into trouble I decided to learn a few ways to defend myself."

Mantis wasn't going to trust her so he hopped on Po's shoulder and whispered, "Be careful, the things she did to me were supernatural, I'm telling you she's a witch."

"I'm not a witch, I simply know magic tricks!" The rabbit snapped, appearing right behind the insect, which made Mantis jump in surprise. It shouldn't have surprised him, she moves fast after all. Frankie continued explaining why a chef uses magic tricks when her profession had nothing to do with such a thing, "It's to keep my customers entertained."

"How did you pull that piece of fabric from your hat?" Mantis just kept asking.

Frankie simply responded, "A good magician never reveals her secrets!"

"How come?"

"Then there wouldn't be anything surprising if you knew how the trick works!"

"I'm not eating any of your food, not after what it did to me!" The insect huffed and crossed his pincers.

"Come on, red is definitely your color!"

Then someone appeared at the door, it was the cheetah dressed in blue from the other day.

"I smell Frankie's cooking!" It was the rabbit's favorite cheetah.

"Lan Se, I'm glad you could join us!"

"It's your cooking. You really think I'm going to miss out on that!"

That earned a blush from the rabbit.

"Ah, Lan Se, glad you could join us!" Master Shifu said joyfully.

"The pleasure is all mine, Master Shifu."

The Furious Five looked at each other wondering the same thing. Crane, however, was the one to ask this time.

"Master, do you know him?"

"I do, he has delivered hundreds of messages and packages safely to the Jade Palace and to destinations no one would dare to cross."

"Then, why are you here?" Tigress asked this sounding a bit more suspicious than she wanted.

Lan Se happily answered her question, "We, and by 'we' I mean: myself, Frankie, Tia Ra, Arc and Zoi, came here because we thought a certain snow leopard cub was in danger. We thought you, and by 'you' I mean: yourself, the rest of the Five, the panda and your master, were going to bring him harm. So you can't actually fault us for hurting you since we were trying to save, or so we thought, this little guy." He gestured at Tai Lung who was too busy happily eating a non-oatmeal breakfast to notice.

"How come?" Tigress now looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, we heard about the bandits and presumed that he could get in a lot more trouble."

Out of nowhere, Arc changed the subject.

"Hey, Frankie, do you know who the new students are?"

Last night Zoi went to her and told her what she and Tia Ra were planning except the rabbit was too distracted staring at her favorite cheetah, she was responding a series of uh-huhs to everything the reporter said.

"Uh, n-no, no clue, no clue whatsoever!" Saying that she continued working on the stove.

Tigress still had a few questions about the cheetah, "Master, how come we have never met him before?" She was referring to Lan Se, "If he has delivered many messages to the Jade Palace and on its behalf as well, I mean."

"Lan Se is good at his job, able to enter any place undetected and exit without anyone even knowing he was there. The only ones who are ever aware that he was there are the people who the package or message was for." The red panda said it in an acknowledging way.

Lan Se remembered the reason why he wanted to reach the Valley of Peace in the first place, "That reminds me," He checked his body and then it hit him, "Damn, I left the letter back at the restaurant!"

"My restaurant?" Frankie asked and received nods of the cheetah's head as an answer.

"I have to go." Lan Se said while Frankie tried to reassure him that the message was fine, "Don't worry, I'm sure Pierre must have put it in a safe place."

Lan Se thanked Frankie for the breakfast and Master Shifu for the hospitality, and left with no further words.

Just like that the cheetah of Frankie's dreams was gone once again but she knew he was coming back so maybe she still had a chance to tell him about her feelings towards him.

Tai Lung had been quiet throughout the whole conversation. Any sort of information that could come in handy later in his schemes the better. Especially what Mr. Ping had revealed to him about the Patient One the night before.

* * *

_Last night_

After Po had been treated and placed on a bed, by Arc, Tai Lung tried to squeeze as much as he could about the goose's ghost encounter a few years ago.

"Little one, why would you want to know about that ghost child?"

If he wanted to get as many answers as he could get, Tai Lung needed to be as sweet as a four year old boy, so he sweetened his voice and stared at the goose with big, innocent eyes, "People keep saying that I'm the Patient One but I'm not and I want to know all I can about him."

Seeing that adorable little face made Mr. Ping sit down and offered the cub to do so on his lap, of course Tai Lung declined but he still took a seat next to the bird and listened closely to the noodle maker's story.

"It happened five years ago, I have heard rumors from some of my customers that a child appeared on the outskirts of the valley and then disappeared whenever someone got too close to him. I was at my noodle shop and I had just closed for the night and then a strong wind blew a promotional banner away. I followed it trying to get it back and it led me to the outskirts. Finally, the wind stopped blowing, so I reached for the flopping paper but tripped and landed beak first on the ground." Mr. Ping chuckled a little at his clumsiness.

Tai Lung didn't want to hear every detail he just wanted to know what the goose knew about the Patient One. Ping continued telling the cub his story.

"When I lifted my head I saw someone crouched on the ground by the side of the dirt road, by the descriptions I recognized who it was: a raggedy white fabric covered his body and I could see one of his rosette studded arms, his fur was very whitish just like a ghost." The goose stopped talking for a few seconds leaving room for letting what had already been told sink in for Tai Lung, "The rumors were true, there truly was a ghost child waiting for someone or something all the way out there. I admit that I was scared but I didn't leave I crept closer to him the second I heard snores coming from beneath the torn fabric."

"I got close enough to prove that I was right, the boy was not a ghost but a living child whom was just asleep on the side of the dirt road. I shook his arm a little, to wake him up and his fur seemed to be covered in dust, that could explained the whitish color, then I pulled the cloth that hid his face and I saw the sleeping form of such an adorable cub," he then stared at Tai Lung, "very much like you, though, he looked older than you and he had what seemed to be scars on his head as well as on one of his arms, they looked more like burn marks, as black as how the fire burns everything it touches. I can only imagine the kind of being who would do such a thing to a child like that."

Tai Lung knew who had done it and it not only angered him but it also saddened him to know that it had occurred in front of him but he could not do anything to stop it.

"Then the boy stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes slowly. They were this beautiful shade of gold," he then stared at the cub next to him, "just like yours. But as soon as he saw me the boy jumped to his feet and dashed into the darkness of the night."

Tai Lung's eyes were full of sorrow but there was also a glint of hope in them, _he_ was alive, _he_ had somehow found his way to the Valley of Peace. Maybe more could have…

His thoughts were interrupted as the goose continued talking, "That was the last time anyone ever saw the Patient One appear. For a while, people were wondering what happened to him, some say I'm to blame for it, but they stopped bothering trying to figure out something that was none of their concern and moved on."

"That's it? No one knows where he went?"

"I'm sorry but that's all I know."

Despite that Tai Lung would have wanted to know more of the topic the goose had solidified the belief that the boy was actually alive. However, five years is a long time and with no one ever hearing about him since then worried the snow leopard. What happened to the Patient One?

* * *

Back in reality, Tai Lung had barely touched his breakfast and was staring blankly into space, clearly lost in thought. He then felt someone place a paw on his shoulder. It was Arc.

"Are you okay? You haven't eaten most of your food."

"Yes, I'm fine, just a lot on my mind."

Master Shifu had been conversing with the rabbit about the letter that was meant to be delivered to the Jade Palace with Frankie only stating that she knew nothing about its contents or who the client is.

* * *

After the five star breakfast, the warriors gathered at the training hall, which was being repaired by palace workers after the damages from the battle the other day.

"Master, you expect us to train while we're recovering from our injuries?"

"Of course not, we are all here to see what our new students are made of.

"Um, Arc," The lion turned his attention to the cub by his side, "It's about the reason why everyone calls me Xue Zai." Tai Lung didn't know exactly what lie to tell the lion to be in the clear.

"No need to explain. I knew you liked the nickname I gave you but I didn't expect you would want to be called 'Snow Cub' from now on!"

It was a good thing (sometimes) that Arc reached his own conclusions. Tai Lung smiled knowing he was in the clear, at least for now.

"Do you know who the new students are?" Tai Lung asked the lion.

"No clue but last night Tia went back into The Underground for reasons unknown." Arc answered.

"Zai," Master Shifu called the out to the cub. "why don't you demonstrate what you know so far?"

Tai Lung eyed the dummy and with lightning speed he gave it a powerful kick that blew a big hole on the wall.

One of the workers sighed deeply, "I'll get right on it."

The old master was shocked and surprised, as well as the rest of his students, by the boy's strength, however, Arc was the only one who looked mystified and pleased by what had just occurred, "With muscles as strong as yours no one will ever try to pick a fight with us. I was right to make you my archeology partner!"

"Arc, now it's your turn to demonstrate what you can do." Master Shifu ordered.

"On the dummy?"

"No, try one of the obstacles that aren't in repair."

Arc viewed the remains of it and raised an eyebrow, "Where exactly should I begin?"

"Perhaps you should start with the Spinning Serpents." The old master offered.

"Alrighty then!" With no further words the lion ran straight for the spinning spirals, jumped in the air and landed right on top of one of them. What was even more impressive was that the lion was able to evade the swinging clubs and keep himself in balance while he both of his arms were right by his sides, as limp as noodles, not using them to keep his body balanced. As if that wasn't enough the lion had both of his eyes closed while he performed his martial arts talent.

Everyone was impressed by the lion's abilities, especially Tai Lung who had no idea his friend was so gifted in martial arts. Then again, there must be a reason how he has been able to survive for so many years with the way the teenager is, the snow leopard thought that the other feline is what can be called "well balanced".

Then, one of the swinging clubs was coming straight for him from behind. Before anyone could warn the lion Arc impressed them even further by turning around and smashing the wooden object with a powerful punch leaving only splinters and dust behind.

The feline then somersaulted in the air and landed in front of the audience of kung fu warriors and opened his eyes, "How was that?"

Master Shifu's jaw snapped close and looked content, "Oh, I think you will make a fine edition to the Jade Palace." Then, he looked at the snow leopard cub, "Both of you."

* * *

Master Shifu had left the Five and Po in charge to make sure that Arc got accustomed and show them what else he can do in the training hall, besides being able to beat Monkey in a fight.

He was going to check up on whatever news Zeng, the messenger goose, had for him.

"Good morning, Zeng, what news do you have for me?"

"Well, nothing much is happening…" The goose paused but continued seconds later, "…except for the guy who committed suicide last night."

"Who?" Master Shifu didn't seem that interested in the topic but he did wanted to know the person who had taken his own life away.

"Some yak who I've heard isn't well liked."

Shifu paled as his breathing stopped at once after hearing the goose's last words. Was it the same yak from the other night?

Why this man's death was so shocking to Shifu you ask? Because Zoi Zenigata was in the valley and the yak had said terrible things to her, he questioned her mothering skills just like he did a few years ago.

Did Zoi have something to do with it? If she was he needed more evidence before he could just pin the blame on the raccoon, especially since it's a suicide not a murder. Or is it?

He went down into the valley to see if it were true. There was a crowd of people standing in front of the yak's house, wanting to see a glimpse of the dead body or just to find out what exactly happened to him.

Being recognized in the valley had its privileges, the second the valley's guards saw him they let him in to see the atrocity. However, the word atrocity doesn't come anywhere near as the horrible image he saw once inside. This couldn't be suicide, this was a murder scene.

The furniture were all broken and flipped like a bar brawl had occurred in the yak's house last night. Then he saw the body leaning against a wall with his feet spread wide on the floor. There was foam dripping from his mouth whiles his body color had taken a sickly pale green.

Shifu felt like he was going to throw up that he decided to exit the house only to demand any sort of evidence from the magistrate.

He was handed the suicide note left behind by the yak. Shifu took it in his hands and read it.

"Tired of living... can't even have a... complain after complain... you lose… clean body and mind... keep mouth clean from bad language."

It was her. She did this! The last part mentioning the bad language is what made him reach his conclusion. Zoi Zenigata had murdered the yak.

He knew she was coldhearted but this was beyond from what he expected from her.

However, if Zoi was responsible for this, he was going to need evidence but there were none except the suicide note and the wreckage inside the house, there weren't any witnesses except for the person who discovered the body.

So for now, he was going to let the magistrate and his men handle the situation until he had proof that Zoi was responsible. He needed to speak with her but he had no clue where he could find her.

Trying to figure where could she be, the red panda went back to the Jade Palace. First, he was going to calm himself then act. Hopefully, the new students will arrive when he has calmed down a bit.

* * *

It was a long day and pretty soon the kung fu warriors would dismiss themselves to try some more of Frankie's cooking.

Watching Arc perform all day long in the training hall was rather entertaining especially when Xue Zai joined in to practice on the "big kids' obstacles" with his feline friend.

The Furious Five and Po were all impressed with how such a young cub was able to perform kung fu that was years beyond him so effortlessly.

Master Shifu had walked in on their display on top of the Jade Tortoise and all he could do was smile proudly at both cats enjoying themselves performing kung fu in their own creative ways. While Arc's was rather new, Zai's style of fighting reminded him of someone else, someone he had known, it reminded him of Tai Lung.

He shook his head trying to get rid of the thought. How foolish to think an innocent child could be his former student.

The red panda had great news, the paper work for Zai's adoption was done with and he wanted to tell his new son and celebrate the occasion with the rest of his students.

Once the warriors notice their master they bowed to him and called down the two felines. Without further ado, Master Shifu told everyone about his adoption of Xue Zai. Arc had been too distracted by the goose who entered the training hall in search of the red panda.

"Master Shifu," The messenger goose called.

"Yes, Zeng."

"The new students have arrived."

Everyone ears (if they have ears) pricked up at hearing the goose's news.

"They're coming up the steps." Zeng added.

They all gathered at the very top of the stairs and waited for the new members to reach the top. They were eager to meet the new students. Arc was bouncing on his feet as well as Po while the others remained stoic but welcoming.

Then, two people came into view as the ascended enough to be seen by the warriors. It was Tia Ra, looking as beautiful as ever wearing a long, colorful, sleeveless dress, it was a mosaic of colors and shapes, the other person with her was Zoi, this time she looked neat like she always does wearing the same clothing she always has on except they didn't have the battle damage from the battle, maybe she carries dozens of the same set of clothing in her bag.

"You're the new students?" The red panda asked sounding a bit distressed and worried.

"No, they're behind us." Tia Ra answered.

Tai Lung then saw two more people come from behind the two women, except these were children about Arc's age. They were both lions, the first was a boy taller than the archeologist and his fur was lighter but his mane was a darker shade of brown but it wasn't fully grown just like Arc's, and his musculature was beautifully endowed to the point that even Tai Lung could imagine him being followed around by women or suitors. He seemed like a very well-mannered and stoic person but at the same time intimidating if his serious expression was any indication. The other was a female about as tall as Arc but her fur was as light as the other lion beside her but unlike him she had a more approachable expression on her gorgeous face, like Tia's, but her eyes were a beautiful greenish brown, now that he thought about it, the girl looked exactly like Tia Ra only younger. He looked at Arc and the lion's eyes were wide as he stared at the female teenager in front of him. That's when Tai Lung realized that the new students were Tia's children but more importantly, the girl was Naki, Arc's crush.

_Oh, this will be interesting!_

Tia Ra stepped forward and presented her children, "Master Shifu, this is my eldest son Jagter Leeu, named after his father." The teenager stepped forward, his face as serious as can be, then bowed properly to the red panda. "And this is my oldest daughter Nakira Leeu, but everyone calls her Naki."

The younger lioness looked at the crowd of warriors and saw Arc staring blankly at her, so she waved him, which made the other teenager smile cheekily and wave rapidly and awkwardly back at her. _Same old Arc!_

"It is an honor to have the children of the leader of numerous tribes, Jagter Leeu the first, and the famous designer, Tia Ra Leeu, learn kung fu under my vigilance."

"The honor is ours, Master Shifu." Tia Ra said with grace.

Then Zoi warned the red panda in a manner that if not knowing her as well as he did it could come off as her being a caring person, "Just do not let anything happen to them or _your_ son!"

"Are you questioning my skills as a teacher?" He said fighting back the angry retorts he was about to launch.

"As a matter of fact I am!" Zoi said with disdain.

Everyone were silent watching the two of them glare at each other. However, Arc stepped forward next to the red panda. And what happened next will be scarred to everyone's craniums for life.

Arc stood up for his new master encouragingly, "Come on, Zoi, when it comes to kung fu, Master Shifu has more talent, knowledge and experience in his teeny tiny, pathetically small, barely visible penis than you have on your whole body."

It was a good thing he was a red panda because the furious blush of embarrassment on his face wasn't that noticeable.

Unfortunately for Shifu, Arc kept talking, "I'm not kidding it's really small." He gripped his master's robe firmly, "If you don't believe me, take a look yourself." And with a hard pull Arc had ripped the red panda's clothing off.

…

* * *

It was night time and everyone was asleep in their rightful bedrooms. Well, not everyone was sleeping. Tai Lung was still waiting for Arc to finish doing his punishment for what had occurred earlier that day. Oh and what a hilarious moment that was! Watching Shifu suffer the embarrassment of having a super-hot woman like Tia Ra, his enemy Zoi and the rest of his students see his bare naked body with his crotch hanging out for everyone to see was priceless. And to add insult to injury, the face of disgust of Tia after seeing him naked made him feel even worse.

Tai Lung was waiting in his new bed in a new bedroom which he had told Shifu he wanted to share it with the archeologist. The red panda found no reason whatsoever to see anything wrong with that suggestion (except Arc's wildness could rub-off) so he told the palace workers to move another bed into the cub's dormitory.

The door to his room slid open to reveal Arc who had just finished his punishment. After one of his biggest moments of mortification, Shifu plucked a hair from the archeologist's mane and ordered him to clean every blade of grass on the Jade Mountain.

"You finished earlier than I expected!"

Arc just smiled at the boy, "The key is to do it is to have a good eye for details and not miss a single spot!"

"He could have punished you way worse than that, you know."

"I actually thought it was fun! Besides, I would do it again, you saw Naki's reaction right, she was chuckling at the sight of me holding Shifu's torn clothes." Arc looked at the cub intently in the eyes, "Tai, I think she likes me!"

"Then you should tell her you like her as well."

The lion's face actually turned to one of sadness and a bit of disappointment and as he started removing his clothing he explained why he couldn't tell Naki, "I can't, I'm not good enough for her. You saw her brother, didn't you? I'm nothing like that. And I hear that ladies from her homeland prefer males like him. Hell, they line up outside his house just so they can get a glimpse of him! And just so you know, the men in her family are considered by women everywhere as 'what all men should be like'."

The lion had actually stripped all of his clothes off right in front of Tai Lung and placed it neatly by the side of his bed. The snow leopard wondered if Arc's intentions for ripping Shifu's robes was intentional or just his usual cluelessness, after all, the lion didn't seem bothered by nudity, in fact, he didn't seem bothered by anything.

The snow leopard wasn't going to change the subject, his friend needed his support, "Arc, the differences I see is that he is very serious and that your fur color is different, you're just as muscular as he is and his mane is a bit longer and bit more fully grown." Tai Lung stopped talking when he saw how much mentioning the archeologist's mane being not as good as someone else's saddened Arc, "Besides, that's her brother she is not going to hook up with him."

Somehow Arc found a way to disagree with the cub, "Mostly every male lion where she's from looks like that. I mean, come on, they're lions!"

_What did he mean by "they're lions", isn't he one?_ "So you are just going to give up on trying to woo her?"

Arc's face lit up as he hopped on his bed, "No way, destiny brought us here together and I'm going to make the most of this chance!"

"Good and just so you know I'll help you get your girl no matter- Arc, don't masturbate while I'm talking to you!

"Sorry, I can't stop thinking about her! She's so beautiful!"

"Well, I can't argue with that!" Tai Lung agreed with Arc's stating Naki's beauty.

"No one can! But how am I going to win her with the approval of her family?"

"As I was saying, I'm going to help you win her heart."

"Thanks!" The lion yawned loudly, "It's getting late, we should have been asleep hours ago! Well, _you_ should have."

"Alright, tomorrow training will intensify." The snow leopard covered himself with his blanket, "Good night Arc!"

Arc rested on his bed and wished the same to his buddy right before falling asleep, "Good night Tai Lung!"

What a day! More like days. In the last few days he had awaken as a child and met amazing people who had opened their doors with open arms and now was at the Jade Palace ready to take his vengeance… but he was starting to feel that he should first enjoy himself and then continue his plan.

The snow leopard turned his head to see Arc sleeping in his bed. Normally he wouldn't have been so open to anyone but the lion was different, he actually did care for the cub enough that he risked his life fighting the Furious Five to save his life despite that he wasn't in danger. Needless to say, Tai Lung was grateful to have Arc in his life, he and the others who also put themselves in danger in order to keep him safe.

Now, he was once again Shifu's son and student. What better way than to have revenge than to smother the red panda with love and then mercilessly break his heart. But he needed to gain more of the old master's trust and love in order to make sure he receives the vengeance he craved.

Still, it was nice to have a home once again, a father, a family…

He didn't wanted to keep thinking about it so he closed his eyes and began drifting into slumber as he remembered everything that had occurred that day, especially Arc ripping Shifu's clothes off. He chuckled a bit remembering that part of the day as well as remembering Arc calling him…

He shot up panting heavily, his eyes widely open as he stared at Arc, who was sleeping rather peacefully. The snow leopard stared at the lion with fear on his features. Sweat started trickling down his face. He just kept staring at the sleeping feline not being able to believe what the lion had said to him before falling asleep.

"Did Arc really call me _Tai Lung_?"

* * *

A/N: Yeah, a lot of things happened in one night, I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time you have heard that. How will Arc calling Tai Lung by his real name change their lives.

Next time Shifu will finally receive the message from Lan Se. What's the worst that can happen? Will Arc tell how he feels to Naki?

Well next chapter might take a while cause I don't have that much work done on it. Hope you can be patient for the next update but I will try to finish it as fast as possible.

Please read and review.


	11. Trail of Knots

Thank you everyone for such nice comments and reviews and I'm really happy that so many like my story and to thank you all properly here is a juicy chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground and my OCs.

Chapter 11: Trail of Knots

* * *

Everywhere he looked there were citizens reading the same thing: Zoi Zenigata's news articles.

Master Shifu sighed deeply and rubbed his temple with his thumb and index finger as he could only imagine all of the horrible things the raccoon wrote on those scrolls.

He could hear people gossiping about the contents of the articles. The red panda heard: "he was cheating on her with another woman!", "the flower shop was a brothel all these years!" or, worst of all, "how small is Shifu's dick again?"

He grumbled a series of curses and gripped his fists every time people kept mentioning the article about what happened the other day when the new students arrived at the Jade Palace.

Of course, Shifu was looking for the reporter to find out if she had something to do with the yak's suicide.

He followed the trail of people reading the same scrolls with the raccoon's signature on them and it lead him to Mr. Ping's noodle shop where the reporter he was looking for was happily sipping on a cup of tea. Shifu crept closer to the woman who was too busy writing on a piece of paper to notice the red panda. Before he could say anything to Zoi, the reporter beat him to it, "Nice day we are having, am I right Shifu?" She said it without ever lifting her vision from the paper.

"How did you know I was here? Your reporter's intuition?"

She looked at him with a glint in her stare, "No, people's gossip kept getting louder and that could only mean one thing! So why are you seeking me, it cannot simply be because of the articles?"

He went for it with no further thought, "For your information, a man committed suicide two nights ago and you seem to have a part in it. I'm here to get facts, now where did you go when we parted our ways?" He wasn't as stoic as he could've been and he inwardly cursed himself for not being. Zoi could easily get on the defensive if she noticed it.

Did she notice? The red panda couldn't tell since she remained as stoic as ever, "If you are talking about the yak with bad manners and uses strong language then I will let you know I did not kill him and before you start making questions I will let you know what I did after you left to aid your students two nights ago."

To that Shifu raised an eyebrow and actually allowed himself to show confusion on his facial features, "You're being awfully generous."

"I am glad you finally noticed, Shifu!" Zoi said using an innocent chime, "Now, after you went to help your pets I went to confront the yak, or Zhi Peng, which is his name, and I told him a few things about being a good parent."

Was she actually confessing that she did murder the yak? He was going to get to the bottom of this, "What did you do?"

The reporter continued, "I was getting on to that. Apparently, he had a teenage son who loved spending time with his best friend for hours. I told him if he were a good father like he thinks that he should see what his ward did behind his back."

Shifu didn't know where she was going with this but he listened to her anyway.

"What happened afterwards was rather comical, Zhi Peng discovered his son and his friend being, how should I say it? 'More than just friends'. You should have seen the man's face when he found out the truth about his son's orientation and also the way he discovered it didn't hurt either, well it did hurt him, his eyes were in denial, his features made him look even older than he appeared and when he returned to his home all I heard were angry yelling, as well as curses, I also heard him breaking furniture or whatever was at his reach. Knowing that I had done my job I left the scene and spent the night at an inn, which had such nice service, by the way."

Now the old master was angry and he didn't bother to hide it as he roared at the raccoon despite who she was, "He killed himself afterwards because of what you did!"

However, she still remained stoic, not even flinching or showing any sort of emotion, "No Shifu, all I did was tell him the truth. Was that so wrong?"

"You made him commit suicide!" The red panda pointed out again.

"But in the end, I did not kill him and if you think about it he deserved to die." She paused allowing her words to sink in properly to Shifu, "A man who decided to take his life away simply because his son is not what he wanted is nothing more than a waste of living space and frankly people like him make this world a worse place to live."

"So you had nothing to do with his death?" He wanted to make sure before he trusted her let alone trust her with the case.

Zoi of course responded in a sweet manner, which actually gave the red panda chills, "What is the point of making people suffer if they do not live long enough to enjoy the display of pain?"

_Just what kind of an evil bitch is she?_

"Oh Master Shifu, if you want to know just what exactly killed Zhi Peng, you should start looking for the cause of death."

"There was a suicide note," He showed her the piece of paper. She then added, "Then why do you think I killed him if he confesses that it was indeed him who took his own life away?"

"The note wasn't exactly very specific and it did say a few words that point to you. That night he used bad language and it said 'keep mouth clean from bad language'. I think anyone would have come up with the same conclusion."

"Shifu, the man was disliked by pretty much by everyone in this valley. Anyone that lives in the Valley of Peace is just as big a suspect as you and I." The raccoon's words actually made the red panda shiver.

"Why would I murder anyone?" He retorted.

"To frame me, perhaps?" Zoi said as she glared at him.

"I live for the safety of the valley. Nothing more."

"Oh you do not have to tell me twice about it. I know that you would rather let your own child go hungry at night than to see something happen to a single citizen of this valley whom you know nothing of."

He knew she was provoking him but he was not going to let it happen, never again.

"Do you want me to find out if the yak indeed committed suicide or not?" Now she showed a bit of impatience.

"Why are you offering to help out?" Shifu actually wondered what could she possibly gain from helping out.

Zoi looked at him sternly, "Well now, let us see, you are blaming for murdering a man… I think that is enough reason for me to find the truth."

Not knowing if he should trust her completely, she was the best help he could find and decided to let her assist, "Well then, I thank you for offering your help."

"_Arigato_, Master Shifu!" Somehow the red panda was able to see right through her façade and stay alert at all times while in her presence.

He turned to leave but before he exited the raccoon whispered, "You should be worrying about your students and not a suicide case."

He turned around but there was no sign of Zoi. She had disappeared in thin air in less than a second. This was another reason why he feared the raccoon so much: she was unpredictable.

* * *

_Come on, you can do it!_

"Hey there, Naki!" Arc greeted the female feline who was happily chewing on an apple in the kitchen.

"Hi Arc! What are you up to?"

"Me? I'm, uh, I'm…" He gave the room a quick glance and eyed another apple on the table, "hungry!"

She giggled, "You haven't changed a bit!"

"Is that good?" He asked sounding a bit desperate.

"Of course, I like to hang around people who act like themselves and not someone else."

_Act like yourself around her, got it!_

"So, has anyone proposed to you?" _Damn, be discrete!_

She raised an eyebrow but her sunny expression never changed, "Actually, many suitors have come to me and kneel on one knee and asked the question so many times I lost count!"

"So you're still available?" Arc said leaning forward in an excited manner.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Now her expression changed to one of confusion.

_Crap, be more discrete!_

"Just curious!" He answered trying to get her off the scent but to make sure he asked something else, "Why did you want to learn kung fu since you already can kick ass on your own?"

Being born a lioness and being raised in the Serengeti meant that she needed to be as tough as the males in her family or as her mother. Naki already knew how to defend herself if danger came to her so it really intrigued Arc to know her reason for being here, not that he complained or anything of the sort.

Naki explained her reason for having joined the Jade Palace, "My mother told me about the cub you found in The Underground and how he was being held captive here so she needed someone to keep a close eye on everything while she's away."

"Right, Fashion Week is nearing." Arc said. Tia Ra always outdid herself every year in that illustrious event. However, the female teenager reassured him that it was something else.

"No she has everything concerning Fashion Week on hold, she wanted to spend more time with my father and the rest of my siblings."

"Then why did she left you and your brother here?"

"Because we offered. We know enough about Master Shifu to be aware that a child in his care is in grave danger. That and I heard you were here."

Did Arc hear her right? She came to the Jade Palace because she knew that he was there.

"You came here because of me?" He couldn't hide the joy from his tone or his face.

"Yes, my mother told me how you valiantly enrolled to be a student here, to keep Tai safe and I knew I had to do something, help out in some way." The way she said it in admiration to his bravery and dedication made him blush and not even care that it he wasn't the reason why she came but it still made him happy.

"Oh, well thank you. The more on our side the better." He said as joyfully as Naki remembered him all those years ago when they first met.

She was curious to make the snow leopard's acquaintance, "Speaking of Tai, where is he? I haven't even talked to him or actually meet him."

Arc was actually dumbstruck by her question; he had no idea where Tai was. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him all day. Well I did see him this morning when we greeted Shifu."

And what a morning greeting that was. The gong rang and immediately the Furious Five, Jagter and Zai sprang out of their rooms and greeted their master, Naki and Po came out just a few seconds later and greeted Shifu. Arc was actually the last one to walk out of his shared room with the snow leopard and greeted the red panda.

"Good morning, Shifu!" Arc said with a musical tone as he waved at the red panda.

"Um, Arc…" Tai said slowly.

"Yes Snow Cub."

"You're not wearing any clothes."

"Huh?" He spread his arms away from his torso and looked down, "Ooh, I guess I forgot to put them back on!"

"Please Arc, go back into your room and get dressed." Shifu sternly ordered the teenager.

The lion's face was blank, "Um, why? It's not like if I cover myself it will make you all forget the sight of my shlong."

Some members of the Five snickered, while others looked scandalized by the undressed lion.

"I will not say this again, get dressed!" Shifu said gritting his teeth with impatience starting to show anger at the unruly teenager.

Arc actually looked at Shifu in a sympathetic way, "Awww, don't be jealous, someday you'll have one as big as mine!"

That was what happened that morning.

"How can I forget a morning like that?" Naki told the male lion trying to hide the blush on her face.

Just like her, Arc was blushing. He hadn't been aware of what her reaction was that morning at his shamelessness, "Do you think I have a hot body?"

Still containing the red blush on her face, Naki actually answered his question, "Well you do take good care of yourself, you have well-endowed muscles everywhere it counts and your fur coloring is really… unique!"

Arc had to blush furiously and giggled a bit at hearing his crush compliment him on his physique. He swore he heard her whisper a faint, "…and erotic!" He was so glad that he decided not to wear his long sleeved shirt that day, mostly because he hoped that it would get Naki's attention and he presumed that it did.

The female teenager then placed both her paws on his strong arms, "But I have never seen your arms before. You were always wearing this armor that somehow grew along with you." She ran her fingers across the shiny steel that marked out the male lion's arm muscles. "Arc, can I see your arms without the armor?"

The lion looked blankly at her and blinked, and then he stared down at his arms concealed within an armor that seemed to be his own flesh since it was pressed against his skin like if it really was part of his limb, like if his arm was made of metal. It actually marked his musculature and outlined his muscles, sometimes making them stand out more than proportion when the light hit them. They were like shiny sleeves, that wrapped themselves around his arms, thin, flexible but powerful enough not to get dents, scratches, and the best part is that they didn't show any sign of rust anywhere.

He looked up at Naki, her beautiful eyes full of interest, that's when he saw for the first time that she was interested in him and if he showed her his bare arms he would please and gain her trust and maybe, just maybe, become an item. "I can't… they're stuck."

"Oh," She was disappointed that he couldn't show her his arms. But the girl wasn't going to give up so she asked the other feline as she placed her hands on his, "have you ever tried to take them off?"

He brusquely removed his arms from her reach "I did… once, and it hurt like hell."

"Maybe there's a weak spot around it?" Naki tried to persuade the male into trying to remove the skintight metallic sleeves.

"No!" He inwardly cursed as he didn't wanted his voice to come out so loud but it did. He looked at Nakira who was startled by the sudden raised voice. That wasn't like him, he never yelled at anyone. Maybe it was time to change or end the conversation. "Hey, maybe we should look for Tai it's going to be lunch time soon."

"You go ahead I need to speak with Jagter." Despite what happened, she didn't seem to be bothered by Arc's reaction but he knew that it did something to her, he could feel it.

He nodded once and left the kitchen. When he was out of earshot he let out a huge sigh of disappointment and grumbled, he almost had her.

_Way to go, you missed a perfect chance!_

* * *

Naki made her way to her brother's quarters wanting to talk to someone and her older sibling was very wise for his age.

"Jagter, can we have a word?"

"Of course." Her brother who was actually sitting on the floor meditating opened his eyes after he answered her.

She didn't knew how to tell him so she decided to evaded names at all cost, "It's about a certain someone whose attention I would like to win."

"Is this about Arc?" He said it as plainly as it sounded.

"Was I that translucent?"

He raised an eyebrow and told her, "When mother came to us back in Gibaria she was asking me for assistance but when she mentioned Arc was here you instantly offered to help out. Why would you want to go to a strict martial arts school like this when you could be having fun in the family vacation?"

"What vacation? It only lasts a few days besides this could be the last chance I get since he's always on the move and I don't know when we'll meet again if we ever do." She confessed displaying impatience.

That little display of emotions and confession made Jagter realize something, "How long have you been crushing on him?"

"For quite a while now. At first I didn't knew what it was, I thought it was simply because I liked him as a friend but then I realized how much I wanted to feel him in an embrace, to stare him in his eyes and to know how good a kisser he is."

"You've been holding that for a whole year now, have you?" Jagter understood how she felt. Arc and Naki have known each other for years, since they were kids, and Arc liked to visit her frequently and have fun all day long but as they got older he started to go on longer and dangerous trips that he barely visited her. The last time they had seen each other had been a year ago when Nakira noticed how much Arc had changed in a physical way.

"And now he's back in my life." She said in a hopeful tone but then changed to one of concern, "I want him to make a move, I would do it myself but what if he isn't interested in me and I make a fool of myself."

He looked her directly in her eyes and spoke in a reassuring tone, "Nakira, you inherited mother's good looks and you have about a hundred guys fighting each other just to say 'hi' to you, I'm sure Arc must feel something for you and if he doesn't than he's gay because no straight guy could resist what you have and what you have is a must for every woman."

"Good looks?" She asked him.

"No. Honesty and a kind heart."

She smiled. If there was someone who always seemed to impress her that was her brother: a serious guy with a caring and wise personality.

"Maybe I should just wait a little longer and see if he's interested."

"Maybe I should talk to him." Jagter said with a little mischievous tone.

"You always try to keep all of my suitors at bay, why is Arc so different?"

"Because _you_ are interested in him." He said it as simply as he could and let it sink in, "And I for once can tell you that he is interested in you."

"How do you know?" If she couldn't tell, how could her brother since she's the one crushing on Arc?

"Cause I'm a guy; I can tell." Again, he answered simply.

She smiled a bit and then it changed into a small frown, Jagter knew that meant something was troubling her.

"When I asked him earlier about the armor he wears around his arms he acted different, like if he was afraid of revealing himself?

To that Jagter raised an eyebrow and said, "Naki, he was naked this morning. And that's not the first time he has been nude around people. You still remember when he streaked during the halftime of that soccer game?"

Naki chuckled remembering that day but added, "And yet, he was still wearing those armors."

"Listen, if he's interested in you, one day he'll open up to you and take those things off.

"He said they're stuck." She said sounding a bit apologetic.

"Nakira, look…" He paused and took a deep breath, more like a big sigh, "…I know how you feel but Arc is your first crush it doesn't mean he's the one for you and if he does indeed likes you then he will sooner or later express the way he feels towards you."

"I hope you're right."

Then he added with a sly tone of voice, "And if he hurts you just tell me and I'll dispose of him."

"No!"

He threw his head back and started laughing hard.

* * *

Tai Lung was on the outskirts of the Valley of Peace right where Mr. Ping had said where he saw the Patient One five years ago.

He wanted to look for any sort of clue that might help him find out what happened to the ghost child but deep down he was sure that he was all the way out there because of what a certain archeologist had called him the other night.

Arc had called him by his birth given name: Tai Lung. It scared him to think about it, that such a clueless, distracted and innocent person like the lion could have uncovered the truth about his identity. How could Arc of all people have figured it out? The snow leopard admitted to himself that he had the tendency to underestimate his opponents but this was beyond unexpected.

Just two days ago a dark figure had called him by his real name, what if Arc was that being in disguise? What if Arc is the one he, and everyone else, should watch out for?

It could have been Arc's usual misguidance and confused Tai with Tai Lung so there was no big reason for him to be so paranoid but he was, he trusted the lion despite the way he is and now the lion could be out to get him.

But he had bigger things to worry about, like finding anything that could lead him to the Patient One.

He followed the direction where Mr. Ping said the child ran off to before he disappeared into the night. If the boy appeared more than once he must have had a refuge somewhere nearby, after all, the rumors started when a man saw the ghost child disappear when he got too close, he spread the word until a few days later someone else saw the ghostly being and so on forward. The encounters lasted for months until Ping got too close to the cub and the boy left without a trace.

The direction that the goose had told him lead him to a forest. Tai Lung had a bad feeling about entering the maze of trees but he had no choice he had to find whatever that could be useful to him.

It was just like when he had awakened back in the no name forest in The Underground, nothing but trees. The chances of him finding anything that could lead him to the Patient One were slim but he had to try.

Unfortunately, some trees were bearing flowers as well as smaller plants. Watching those colorful angiosperm structures reminded Tai Lung of the dream he had and the promise he had once made but was never able to make come true.

He could hear those awful moments again, all of those screams and painful wails. "He chewed off his own… Aawww, did I hurt the little kittens… they're dead because of… they're suffering all of this because of… you!" Those words were like echoes in his head that never faded away.

By the time he broke his reverie, Tai Lung noticed there were tears trickling down his face. He looked into his paws as they trembled violently. "It is my fault they're dead."

He wanted to control himself, to be able to concentrate on the purpose of being in that forest in the first place so he placed his hands in a prayer position, closed his eyes and took deep breaths. The snow leopard stayed like that for a minute before he started to make a movement with his fingers, he remembered those precise fancy moves: it was the first step of the Aura Force. Somehow doing those precise steps brought peace to him and made him forget of his worries and what the future has in store for him but it was also somewhat relaxing as the world around him seemed to disappear and in its place another world took its, this one being the same flowery meadow from his dream.

This time he did not hear laughter of children just the wind blowing. He called out to see if anyone was there but no response.

He walked forward, this time he wanted to explore the meadow, which seemed to go on forever. Tai Lung easily lost track of time as he strode on the flowery field but no matter how far he went there was still no sign of any other person there.

"Is there anyone out here?" He yelled.

No response.

"Damn flowers!" Out of anger and frustration he started pulling flowers from the ground like a rabid beast. He kept yanking them and discarding them on the ground for minutes until he fell on the ground panting heavily. This meadow had once meant something for him and for the children but now it was just a hunting nightmare.

Finally feeling better after his tantrum Tai Lung got to his feet and was shocked to discover someone not far away from him but as he looked closer the snow leopard recognized him for the white torn fabric that covered the other feline.

Tai Lung crept closer to him, the other cat not moving a muscle, his face concealed by the fabric like a hood. The Patient One stood right in front of him, still waiting for him to arrive.

"_Lei_, is that you?"

No response.

Tai Lung reached up to push the white fabric away from the other cat's face but before he touched him the world, the flower meadow, started to fade away along with the Patient One.

"No, I'm here! I came for you!" But it was useless. Everything faded away.

"LEI!"

He blinked and in the process the flower meadow disappeared. Tai Lung found himself back in the forest near the Valley of Peace again except there was something different about it: the trees as well as rock and fallen tree branches had all scattered away from him, leaving a circular area around the cub without any grass. How did that happen?

The trees had left a trail of a big hole on the ground that started where they had once been rooted.

He stared at his hands, which were facing each other, with unsheathed claws, and he could feel what happened: he had somehow performed the Aura Force.

How did I do it this time? When he had performed it in the Temple of Terkhonazya he had no idea how he released the energy and now he had somehow been able to do it but wasn't aware of it.

"Wow, how did you manage to do that?" A voice said from behind him.

Tai Lung instantly turned around and cursed inwardly as he laid eyes on the annoying panther with a personality problem.

"You get the hell away from me!" The cub growled.

"What did I do to you? You're the one who tackled me to the ground and started hitting me like a wild animal!" The panther responded with his accented voice.

"Were you following me?" He was being defensive.

"No, I've been living in this forest for a year now." The panther responded with the unaccented voice.

"Why?" Tai Lung sounded incredulous. Who would want to live in an isolated forest.

"Well I don't have to pay taxes." Alvar responded.

Huh, that's actually not a bad thing! "What exactly did I do? I kind of blacked out so I don't know what I did to the forest." Tai Lung wanted to know exactly what happened when he was at the meadow of flowers.

The panther was kind enough to give the younger cat an answer and to Tai Lung's liking there was no voice switching, "You were standing still right where you are, your arms were shaking and a sphere of light came from the palms of your hands."

Just like in the temple's hieroglyphics.

"Then what happened?" There was excitement in his voice as well as interest.

The panther continued to explain, "You suddenly separated your arms to opposite sides and everything nearby moved away from you."

That's when Tai Lung remembered Arc translating the symbols to him: _"Aura Force: using your chi to transfer energy to your palms in order to move and/or manipulate matter... …Entropy may be required. Warning: results may vary."_

He couldn't believe it; he had just moved trees and boulders without having to touch them and no other warrior in the world knew the technique.

Alvar then spoke, and what he said took he snow leopard's interest a lot more than anything related to the new fighting move, "With you running around this forest doing whatever you just did anyone will mistake you for that ghost child for sure!"

"Do you know anything about him, the Patient One, I mean?" Tai Lung asked with interest.

"The only thing I know is that he left the forest years ago." The panther answered with his accented voice.

Then he the dark cat yelled at himself with his unaccented voice, "He asked me!"

"Not this again!" Tai Lung grumbled. "Will you please just answer me!"

"Well, I believe he used to refuge himself in this forest and after he used an abandoned farm not far from here."

Is he talking about the same farm with the entrance to The Underground?

"How do you know that?" Seriously, how did an insane panther know something like that?

"Because the kid had left behind clues for someone to find. Who? I have no idea."

"What kind of clues?" Tai Lung asked.

The panther explained, "If you didn't know, the so called ghost was cloaked by an old torn white fabric, I believe it was white once since it is quite dirty now, well he ripped pieces off of it and tied them around tree branches which lead to that farm, and if you follow them in the opposite direction it leads you to where he always stood waiting for whoever it was that was worth the wait."

"I haven't seen any pieces of fabric tied around anything." Tai Lung looked around to see any if there were any white knots tied around anything. The panther saw the boy looking at his surroundings and filled him in.

"It has been five years since he tied them, of course not all of them are still tied, after all, strong winds, heavy rains happen, I've found many of those pieces of fabric lying on the ground or stuck on a bush."

As Tai Lung digested all of the information he realized where the Patient One disappeared to: The Underground. Of course, why didn't he think of that conclusion before? No wonder he hasn't been seen since he must have discovered the hidden world and came back to lead Tai Lung to where he is.

"Do you want me to take you to that farm and I can carry you on my shoulders in case you get tired." All of a sudden the panther offered his help.

"Thanks?" Tai Lung knew the way to the farm but accepted the bigger feline's help since he seemed to know more about the Patient One. But he stayed with his guard up, after all, the panther wasn't trust worthy.

"Now, let's go to the farm!" The panther said out loud as he held a fist in the air.

"Yeah, lets." Tai Lung said warily.

He wasn't going to keep his guard down after all the panther appeared right after the dark figure who knew his identity disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Back at the Jade Palace the Furious Five were mentoring the three teenage lions in the training hall. Arc had no problem performing martial arts, Jagter proved to be quite an impressive warrior and Naki was able to keep up with the two males.

"I'm impressed by their display!" Tigress exclaimed

"You can say that again!" Mantis acknowledged.

"I'm impressed by their display!" Tigress repeated.

"Have any of you seen Xue Zai?" Crane asked.

"Isn't he with Master Shifu?" This came from Viper.

"Now that you mention it I think he left before the gong rang." Tigress answered.

"Are you talking about Snow Cub?" This came from Arc who appeared right in front of them without any of the masters noticing him.

Tigress wanted to know where the four year old was so she asked away, "Yes, do you know where he is?"

The lion shook his head and added, "He has a tendency of wondering off by himself." As soon as he said it the lion remembered something very important. He slapped a paw to his forehead for having forgotten to give it to the cub sooner.

"Is something wrong?" Crane eyed the lion closely.

Arc slapped a hand to his forehead and exclaimed, "I forgot to give Snow Cub a gift I bought for him!"

"What is it?" Monkey asked the teenager out of curiosity.

"It's a surprise for him not you!" Arc retorted. Each member of the Five flinched at the lion's reaction. What could be so important that the snow leopard needed it?

The lion was by far the strangest being any of the kung fu masters have ever met. Tigress was interested in knowing more about the teenager, "Where exactly did you learn how to fight Arc?"

The teenager turned his attention to her and answered, "Since I'm an archeologist I explore abandoned and forgotten places that conceal secrets such as styles of martial art that are unknown to the rest of the world."

"What was that nose flick thing that you did to me?" Monkey asked in an interested and yet desperate way.

Arc explained, "That was a move I learned in a monastery buried deep in the sands of a dessert."

"Is there any way its side effects can be removed?" Now Monkey really sounded like a desperate person.

Arc looked at the golden langur and deduced what was the problem, "It hurts when you pee right?"

Monkey simply nodded.

"You'll just have to wait till it goes away."

"What about the curse you said has laid upon me?" Now Monkey sounded scared.

Arc happily told him what he wanted to know, "For disrespecting the Eye of Karaudo you shall have erectile dysfunction for years, ten years to be exact."

"How can I get rid of the curse?" Monkey was starting to ease down but the lion, as well as everyone of the other masters, was able to see that the golden langur was irritated.

"You couldn't enjoy your morning wood this morning, couldn't you?" Arc said it as plainly as greeting someone.

Monkey sank down, trying to hide his face as much as possible and then answered sheepishly, "Yes."

However, the lion gave him the answer he wanted to hear, "I think I know how I can help."

Monkey looked hopeful staring at Arc with a grateful expression but he should know by now that the lion isn't exactly a normal person.

* * *

It was just as dirty as Tai Lung saw it a few days ago. There were layers of dust everywhere as well as cobwebs on every corner.

"So where is the Patient One's cloak? I'm going to need some evidence if you want me to believe everything you've said to me."

"It's-" He was interrupted by the unaccented voice: Alvar , "It's upstairs!" Tai Lung finally figured out the voice switching thing: smooth, normal voice is Alvar, and the deep, accented voice is Xovius. The snow leopard decided to just go with it and play along the crazy panther's game after all it's not the dark feline's fault that he's mentally deranged.

"Why did you interrupt me?" Xovius angrily asked himself.

"The boy asked _me_ for help!" Alvar retorted.

"Still, you should apologize!" Xovius said as he crossed his arms with a small pout on his face.

Then the panther's arms separated and by the way the feline had forcibly moved them displayed annoyance just like his face.

"Why?" Alvar said incredulously.

He crossed his arms again and Xovius exclaimed with tearful eyes.

"You hurt my feelings!"

Then the panther's expression changed to one of sympathy and understanding and started to pat one of his shoulders reassuringly.

"Oh don't cry I'll take you to your favorite whorehouse, I promise!"

Tai Lung knew from the second that one ego had interrupted the other that they would spent a while arguing or conversing about useless things so he decided to follow the panther's directions and headed upstairs through some rickety stairway.

He had a bad feeling about using the stairs so he did the most logical option to him: he crouched on the floor and sprang up in the air and landed right at the end of the stairway on the second floor.

The snow leopard was still able to hear the panther's different voices exchanging words on the first floor. They were going to stay there, er, he was going to stay there for a while and thanks to his impatience for incompetent people Tai Lung went along the hallway with just one door at the end of it.

He reached the lonely door and entered the room beyond it. The feline expected the room to be as dusty as the rest of the house and have furniture covered with spider webs. He was right. It turned out to be a bedroom with one bed in the middle, a desk against the wall to the left and to the right was a chair. Tai Lung's eyes were fixed on the chair because resting on it was an old, torn and dirty white fabric that seemed to be longer in some time ago but was nothing more than just four feet long.

Tai Lung held it in his hands and noticed how some parts of it had been torn while on other parts it was sliced neatly (probably with a pair of scissors).

The Patient One _was_ here but he needed something to prove that and if the boy indeed went into The Underground.

He neatly folded the piece of fabric and held it against his chest, embracing it as close to his heart as possible and a small tear ran down his cheek. _I will find you wherever you are!_

Then the snow leopard placed the fabric between his belt and pants and started to exam the room for any clues. He examined the bed and found nothing then he tried the desk and found a few objects inside its drawers: pieces of paper with ink drawings on them.

Wanting to know if the pictures contained a single clue, Tai Lung checked each one. There was a drawing of the Jade Palace, the forest, the farm itself, the entrance to The Underground, that could be a clue, and then the snow leopard saw a picture that made him want to vomit as he remembered that awful memory. It was a drawing of a severed rosette studded arm bleeding a puddle of blood.

Even though it pained him to see the image it also told him that the Patient One is indeed the person he assumed and he was here years ago. Now all Tai Lung needed to know is if the boy had gone into The Underground.

He left the room and took a long jump without touching the stairs and headed for the basement but before that he stumbled upon a certain panther wrestling with himself on the floor yelling curses with one voice to the other ego.

Whatever the reason, Tai Lung wasn't interested in hearing about it, he had more important things to do than to question an insane feline why was he fighting himself.

The cub made his way down to the basement and looked around for anything that could be considered as a clue. And there it was tied to the knob of the door, which leads into the temple, was a piece of the white fabric.

There was no doubt about it anymore. Lei was alive and he was someplace in The Underground.

* * *

He was meditating or at least trying to meditate as he tried to find peace despite the many problems he had to resolve: Zai was nowhere to be seen, six of his students were still recovering from their injuries, a man had committed suicide, Zoi was finding out the truth behind that suicide case, the raccoon's articles had the entire valley gossiping about him and every other detail they contained, he was now the teacher of a mentally deranged lion and he had just received news from Zeng that the Thread of Hope had been cut off again, this time by a pink lady wearing nothing more than a black bloomers, at least that's what the workers said they saw.

Zai was a child who tended to wander off and always came back, at least he hoped that the boy would return. The whole suicide case was very suspicious but, although he hated to admit it, if Zoi is trying to find out what exactly happened to the yak she was the only one who could do it. Her articles were ones worthy of being the center of attention but as soon as something new appears everyone forgets about it and moves on, he should be thankful that this time it wasn't as humiliating as the last time.

He gripped both sides of his head and groaned loudly. How can things get any more complicated?

As if on cue, Lan Se presented himself at the entrance of the hall. "Special delivery for Master Shifu!" The cheetah said in a greeting manner.

Shifu let out a big sigh and greeted the deliveryman, "What do you have there for me?"

"It's a message from someone whose identity wants to remain anonymous." The cheetah said as he pulled out the scroll from his messenger bag.

"Very well," The red panda took the scroll in his hands, "Is that all, Lan Se?" The cheetah nodded once and dismissed himself.

The red panda opened the scroll and read its contents. After a minute of reading in silence, the red panda let go of the scroll and let it hit the floor, he stopped breathing, his eyes were wide open, he couldn't move a muscle. It wasn't what the message said, it was the name of the person who signed it. There was no mistake; he knew it had to be that person because he recognized the handwriting. No one else could read the letter, absolutely nobody, so in a desperate attempt to make sure no one ever read anything from his freshly delivered scroll, Shifu burned it in one of the braziers nearby. _No one can know the truth, no one!_

Unfortunately for him somebody knows. What about Lan Se? Did he read the message? Does he know? And just who sent him the letter? Could it be the same person who signed the letter?

Shifu thought he never had to worry about this but now it had resurfaced after many years of keeping it secret. He trembled inwardly thinking about it.

He can never let anyone know, especially with a certain raccoon lurking around.

"Hey Shifu," He jumped at hearing that cheerful, yet irritating, voice of Arc, "Do you know where I can find a mask of some sort?"

_What is he up to?_ "May I ask why do you need a mask?"

"Monkey asked me to help him lift a curse I laid on him, not on purpose, with an ancient artifact!"

Shifu stared blankly at the lion. _I'm going to need to get used to this from now on._

"Ooh, that seems like a mask!" The lion said excitedly.

Master Shifu eyed the direction where the lion had gestured. He saw the display of Master Flying Rhino's armor. Then he noticed the teenager striding towards the old armor and jumping right on top of it trying to detach the helmet until the head piece squeezed out of the rest of the structure with a metallic scraping squeak.

"Just where are you taking that?" Shifu sternly asked the teenager.

"It can be used as a mask for the ritual!" The lion answered him with like always that happy demeanor of his.

"Please put that back." He wasn't going to start another pointless conversation with the lion so he just wanted Arc to stop his shenanigans. But knowing the feline, he took hold of the helmet in the teenager's grasp.

Arc wasn't going to let Shifu ruin the ritual, "Let go, Monkey needs it!"

The old master let go of the artifact, "Use something else then!" He was starting to get angry, "It has been a hard day for me, so if you would please put that back I will appreciate it."

Arc placed the helmet on the floor and embraced the red panda with a warm smile on his face, then he patted Shifu gently on top of his head, "Don't worry, things will get better!"

_Did he just "there, there" me?_

"If you want you can join us!" Arc offered.

By 'us' Shifu realized the lion meant his other students, "What exactly are all you of going to do?"

Arc just smiled thinly.

_What have I gotten myself in to?_

* * *

It was quiet except for the sound of birds chirping and the sound of a panther arguing with someone who wasn't even there. Tai Lung was trying to digest everything he had learned about the whereabouts of the Patient One but more importantly that the ghost child was alive and that the boy truly was the person he hoped to be.

The snow leopard was heading back to the Jade Palace, he had no idea why the panther was following him, after all, Tai Lung thanked him for the help and said "good bye" but the bigger feline just kept walking behind him.

Then the cub felt a hand on his shoulder and it was the panther, "Zai, Xovius wants to know why are you so interested in the Patient One?"

"Don't tell him that it was I who wanted to know!" Xovius yelled angrily at Alvar.

"Oh well do you see anyone else who would ask the boy's interest in a fake supernatural being?" Alvar sarcastically replied.

"That's not the point! You could have at least been discrete!" Xovius cried.

He was tired of listening to them fight all day long. Tai Lung couldn't take it anymore with the panther's constantly fighting his alternate ego, "SHUT UP!" The boy yelled.

The panther was silent and looked at the cub in the eyes, "If you want to know why I want to find the Patient One well I'll let you know this: I knew him… and I cared about him… and then I thought he was dead but it turns out that he is not, and I want to reunite what we once had, what we never got a chance to live."

There was silence for a few minutes until Alvar spoke quietly, "You're favorite whorehouse is in this direction. Good bye, little one!" And just like that, to Tai Lung's relief, the abnormal panther was gone.

Tai Lung made his way up the steps of the Jade Mountain and discovered the strangest sight he had ever seen in his life.

There was a big bonfire in the center of the courtyard and circling it while dancing in a weird fashion was the Dragon Warrior and a few members of the Five (Crane and Viper). They had body paint on their faces and other exposed body parts and to top it off they were wearing skirts made of tall grass. There was a circle painted on the floor, it was to the right of the bonfire, with Monkey standing right in the middle wearing a helmet, Master Flying Rhino's armor helmet Tai Lung presumed since he knew it pretty well. Tigress was standing as far away from the freak show as possible but she wanted to witness it anyway.

The cub then noticed Shifu standing to the left of the fire, far enough not to get in the way of the dancers, wearing body paint liker his students as well as a grass skirt around his waist with Mantis perched on top of his head dangling two dumplings with his pincers. _Oh this is rich!_

Then Arc appeared wearing nothing more than a loincloth and, of course, his armors while holding a golden sphere in his palms. "God of the masked people I humbly ask you to forgive this feces throwing soul in order for him to enjoy having a boner in the mornings or whenever he gets wood."

All of a sudden everyone dancing around the fire started chanting words, "Gooble, goble, gooble, goble!"

"Now let the sacrifices commence!" Arc exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

Everyone was flabbergasted by the lion's words. Shifu was the one to ask the question, "Wait what sacrifices?"

Arc explained, "In order to free Monkey from the curse we need to sacrifice virgins, ages eighteen through twenty five are the only ones that make it work."

Shifu then reasoned sounding a bit paranoid, "We can't sacrifice anyone's life for the sake of Monkey getting pleasure from… you know."

Arc sighed, "You're right, we don't have any virgins with that age at the moment. We can always make him drink the foulest liquid in all the land for the entertaining pleasure of the angered God."

"What is the foulest liquid in all the land?" Viper asked.

"Frankie's soy sauce!" Mantis added grimly.

"That'll work!" Arc exclaimed.

"I'll get it." Tigress offered. She wanted to know how the ritual was going to end.

While the tiger went to get the sauce from the rabbit in the kitchen, Arc gestured the others to continue, "Let's carry on with the ritual!"

Tai Lung had to admit that this was the most entertaining thing he had ever seen. He also found it to be hilarious; looking at Shifu and the rest of his students humiliate themselves was funny.

Tearing his eyes away from this freak show was something hard to do and it seemed that it was going to get better.

And he was right. Tigress returned with a bottle of soy sauce, which he heard from Arc that Frankie had used to defeat Mantis, along with the rabbit chef herself who looked intrigued at the strange dance show.

"Aha!" Arc exclaimed as he was given the bottle and held it in the air, "The foulest liquid in all the land! Now Master Monkey, drink every drop!"

Monkey shakily took the bottle in his hand and without further ado, he sipped the sauce with one gulp.

Nothing happened… until the golden langur felt a cramp coming from his abdomen and placed a hand there to soothe it.

"And it begins." Mantis said casually.

Arc looked around and was content, "The ritual was a success!"

"Does that mean the curse has been lifted?" Monkey said as he tried to keep himself from upchucking.

The lion nodded and added, "Yes, if it wouldn't have worked a lightning should have hit you."

As if on cue a lightning struck a nearby tree. Everyone had their jaws hanging open and then stared at the teenager.

Arc just kept smiling, "See, it didn't hit you!"

* * *

A/N: Gooble, goble, gooble, goble!

Alright, another chapter full of answers that opens up other questions please don't hate me for it. I'll see if I can finish the next chapter before August 28 since that will be the very first anniversary since I published my first chapter of this story.

Maybe Arc's attempts into romancing Naki won't be so hard since she feels the same way about him. Who could these Lei (means thunder) be and how is he connected to Tai Lung you ask? All of that will be answered in the future. I hope I don't have to explaine who the pink lady in black bloomers is. Of course the ritual you just witnessed does not exist but if it does someone please tell me! Just who wrote Shifu that message? I'll be evil and keep that secret to myself for now. If you want answers read and review.


	12. When I Grow Up

It's the one year anniversary since I published the first chapter of this story. Let's celebrate! In this chapter I wanted to show a little bit more of Arc since he is a main character in this fic and I think that the readers have a right to know more of him. Just so everyone is aware: Jagter (pronounced jakter) means 'hunter' in an African language and Leeu means 'lion' in another African language. There was so much that needed to be said that I had to split this chapter in half.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 12: When I Grow Up

* * *

Everyone had to admit that despite the lion being as abnormal as it can get, the ritual took their minds out of every worry they had or distracted them from stress, especially Shifu.

It was dinner time and to everyone's pleasure Frankie had cooked their meal.

Tai Lung was silent throughout the whole supper. Everything he had learned so much information that he didn't knew what to do next. He wanted to get his revenge against everyone who had hurt him in the past but he also wanted to be reunited with Lei, and any of the others if they truly were alive as well.

Before joining everyone in the kitchen for supper he had placed the Patient One's torn cloak in his room.

Arc who was sitting next to Tai Lung was beaming at him. The lion was happy to see the cub after a whole day without his archeology buddy and he wanted to give him the present he had gotten just for the snow leopard.

Naki was trying to hide her blush the whole time as Arc was still wearing the loincloth from the ritual. She had seen him naked before, the reason for her hard blush was because she had a dream once of the lion wearing nothing more than a loincloth as he held her in his arms, but he wasn't wearing the armor, unlike in reality.

Jagter just stared at his sister with his brotherly concern stare. He wanted her to be happy but also keep her safe. The lion then stared at Arc who at all times tried to avoid eye contact with Naki. Was he that shy or was he trying to keep her at bay? _He and I definitely need to talk!_

Monkey looked so happy and relieved knowing that he didn't had to worry about the curse anymore. Arc may have been annoying at first but the lion turned out to be a fun and loyal person to hang around with.

While all of his students were enjoying a nice dinner, Shifu suddenly told the Furious Five and Po that tomorrow they were going to train all day with no breaks.

Of course there was series of complains afterwards which the red panda simply waved off stating that they had gone too soft.

"Master we are still capable of handling a fight but we can't start training tomorrow, our injuries haven't healed completely."

"Really? Well most of you were able to dance around a bonfire with no sign of pain or discomfort but that is not why you need to start training it is because you were all defeated by: a fashion designer, an uncivilized teenager, a deliveryman, a chef who performs magic tricks and a reporter!" He spat out the last word as if it was an insult.

"Hey I'm a tough girl!" Frankie defended herself.

"On their behalf my mother is really strong." Jagter defended his fellow students.

"The kitchen floor tastes funny!" While some eyed him weirdly the rest ignored Arc's out of the blue comment.

"Still, they should have been able to handle themselves better!" Their master huffed, "Tomorrow you will train twice as hard and that's final."

His students, Po and the Furious Five, let out groans after their master had finished reprimanding them.

The red panda then turned his attention to the snow leopard cub, "Zai," The cub's ears pricked up at hearing his name but didn't turned his attention to Shifu as he stared blankly at his meal, "Where were you today? You had me, as well as everyone else, worried sick!" The old master said harshly, he didn't wanted to be too mean but the boy needed to learn how to behave.

The cub stayed silent, staring down at his plate.

"Xue Zai, answer me." This time the red panda sounded a bit worried. Was his son feeling well? Did something happen to him that he wasn't aware of?

Tai Lung huffed loudly, got up and left the kitchen not saying a single word.

Something was troubling his son but before Shifu went after the boy Arc beat him to it as the lion left the kitchen in search for the cub.

The teenager went down the hall and exited the building, the same way Tai ran off to. There was no sign of the boy anywhere so Arc closed his eyes, took calm breaths and listened closely to his surroundings.

The wind blew.

He was able to hear the child's footsteps not that far from where he stood and went in that direction until he found the cub hiding behind the building with the barracks.

"Snow Cub, are you alright?" Not only did Arc's voice depicted concern so was his face as his features expressed pleading for the snow leopard to answer.

Tai Lung didn't respond. He just stared at the afternoon sky as the sun began to set. There was so much to be done but he didn't know where to start and he had to keep his identity a secret but someone already knew who he was, that dark figure from the alley, and he suspected that Arc knew his secret as well. He trusted the lion, or at least wanted to, because unlike everyone else in his life, the archeologist has never turned his back on him and now the snow leopard couldn't bestow trust on the other feline because the teenager had called him Tai Lung, his real name. He had been so careful not to let anyone know and now this happened.

"Tai, you okay?" Arc asked again this time a bit calmer.

The snow leopard only nodded.

Arc got closer to the boy and asked him what he wanted to know, "What's bothering you?"

Tai Lung wanted to find out if Arc truly does know who he is. Maybe the lion knows his secret but won't stand in his way. The teenager could be a great ally if he knew his plot. But he was going to be subtle about it.

So the younger cat picked himself up and brought out the subject that has been bothering him the whole day, "Last night, you called me by another name: not Tai, not Snow Cub, not Xue Zai."

Arc raised an eyebrow, "You're upset because I called you by another name? Dude, I'm not your girlfriend or anything of the sort but what did I call you that made you so sad?"

_Just say it!_ "You called me Tai Lung!" The words came out forced but nevertheless he had said it out loud. _Should I tell him my secret, would he help me out like he always has or would he abandon me like everyone else?_

"I called you Tai Lung last night?" Arc asked, sounding confused. _Maybe he wasn't aware of it after all._

"Right before you fell asleep, yes." Tai Lung told him.

His friend was sad because he confused his name with someone else's. _He's a lot more sensitive than he lets on_. "I'm sorry! I didn't even knew I called you that. I guess since I was so tired and sleepy after completing Shifu's punishment that I confused your name with another. Tai. Tai Lung. Tai. Tai Lung. Anyone can get them mixed up if they're not thinking straight." Arc said while scratching his head in a bemused fashion.

Somehow listening to the lion confirm that he didn't knew his secret made the snow leopard so happy that a big smile appeared on his face but slowly fell into a frown as he remembered everything else he had on that very same day.

Arc noticed the boy's expression and embraced the child, in hope to brighten his mood, resting the cub's head on his shoulder.

Somehow being on the lion's warm and caring arms, despite the cold and hard armor around them, Tai Lung felt nothing more than love from his friend, scratch that, his best friend.

He closed his eyes caressed the lion's neck like a child snuggling against his parent. Then he opened his eyes and lifted his vision to the bigger cat's face, after the tender display of affection to a friend, his eyesight was right in front of the lion's birthmark, the one beneath his left eye. Tai Lung found it rather interesting since he had never seen one like that before in his life. It was moon shaped, the black crescent seemed to be resting on top of the feline's cheek, and it had the strangest design since at the far left end it seemed that another one was starting but it looked more like a small, black curved spike connected to the rest of the black moon.

Not knowing how it started or why he didn't try to stop it, Tai Lung started tearing up.

Arc reacted by caressing the boy's back with his right paw. "Shhh, it's alright, I'm here!"

The lion allowed the boy to release every tear he had repressed till he asked the snow leopard what was wrong.

When the cub stayed quiet, obviously trying to evade the question, Arc just patiently asked again, "Tai, what's bothering you? I can help you."

_Should I come out with it and tell him?_

"Arc," He paused still not sure if he should tell the lion the truth, "You would never turn your back on me or abandon me, would you?"

"Of course I would never abandon my friends. Now, what do you want to tell me that's so secret?" His words were honest, the small cat could tell.

Tai Lung looked at him in the eyes and opened his mouth but no words came out. He couldn't do it; he didn't find the enough strength to tell the truth. So he simply looked down and sighed quietly, "I'm lost!" It wasn't a lie since he truly didn't know where to go or what to do.

Arc looked at the child serenely, "Whenever I feel like that I always ask myself the same question over and over again and now I think you could try to answer it by yourself: What do you want to be when you grow up?" The lion said and sounded so wise that Tai Lung questioned if the cat in front of him was Arc.

The snow leopard just stared at the lion blankly. At first he thought it was the lion's cluelessness but this actually seemed to be the wisest words he has ever heard from someone. What did he want to be when he grew up? The only option he was ever given was to be the Dragon Warrior and nothing else. And we all know how that turned out! But now that he was a child again maybe there was a chance for him to discover what he wanted to do with his life.

"I don't know yet." Tai Lung responded slowly. Sure, he could have given it more thought but that was the truth.

"It's alright you have your entire life to figure that out." Arc then offered a piece of fabric to the cub to wipe away the tears off of his face.

Tai Lung took the piece of fabric and wiped his face and then blew his nose on it. Then the cub eyed the tissue closer and his eyes widened as he realized what it was.

_Oh good Gods, Arc gave me his loincloth!_

Although he was a bit repulsed of having his faced smothered against something that has been encasing a teenager's sweaty crotch Tai Lung just smiled at the lion warmly which made the lion give his signature friendly smile.

"Ooh, I almost forgot!" Arc suddenly said excitedly as he reached for something. "Do you remember when we first got the valley and I wanted to get you a gift? Well, I got you one!"

The cub still being held with one of the bigger cat's arms couldn't see anything below (thank gods) except for the lion's armored forearm embracing him while the other was reaching for whatever Arc had gotten him.

"Found it!" Arc happily exclaimed. And then he showed Tai Lung the gift he had gotten for him: a ball of yarn.

"Uh, thanks?" Of all the things the lion could have given him he got the cub a crappy gift.

"You're welcome!" Arc exclaimed happily and spoke with pride, "When I was really young I used to have a ball of yarn just like this one. It brought me joy at the darkest times and in doing so it saved my life. I'm sure that one day it'll do the same for you!"

The snow leopard hardly believed that a ball of bright red yarn could do anything more than be used to knit clothing or hang yourself with it but the cub still smiled gratefully at the lion for putting him first above everything else. Tai Lung happily wrapped his arms around the other feline's neck in a passionate way, thanking Arc for the gift.

The embrace lasted a few more seconds till the cub realized something that he hadn't before.

"Um, Arc," Tai Lung waited till the lion turned his attention to the cub, "Where did you pull the ball of yarn out of?" Arc was wearing nothing more than a loincloth but he had taken it off, so where could that ball of yarn been?

Arc opened his mouth wide, inhaled to speak, but as soon as he realized the question his face fell to a blank expression.

"I don't really know." With wide eyes, Arc responded slowly, his face being a blank mask of doubt.

They both stared blankly at each other before both of them started laughing.

"Is everything alright?" A husky voice suddenly spoke.

Both cats turned their attention to the red panda standing not far from them. He wasn't surprised to see Arc naked, not even wearing his loincloth, but he was surprised to see that Zai was showing emotions and embracing the lion.

At first he questioned if the lion should stay in the Jade Palace because of his behavior but his son seemed to be happy around the teenager. Despite that the lion could be a bad influence to Zai, Shifu could tell that the bigger feline meant no harm, in fact, he cared about his son's wellbeing and for that the red panda couldn't keep him away from the cub. After all, Zai was very emotionally sheltered; the boy was going to need someone there for him if he wasn't nearby.

Arc and Tai nodded at the same time letting the red panda know that everything was alright.

The old master nodded in relief knowing his son was well and then shifted his attention to the undressed lion.

"You are going to get dressed, aren't you?" Shifu's words were more like an order and not a question.

"Well, I can't exactly put my loincloth since it's covered in snot." Arc said in a humoristic and somewhat apologetic manner.

Shifu raised an eyebrow after hearing the lion's explanation but nevertheless ordered him to cover himself, "Then I suggest you get fully dressed."

Before Arc said anything else to agree or disagree with the old master, Tai Lung removed his clothing and threw them at the red panda's face. "Come on, Arc, I'm hungry!"

"Sure!" Arc agreed with the boy.

And the two nude cats headed back to join the rest of the students and finish their dinner.

Shifu looked at his son and the lion's naked forms walk away, back to the kitchen, and join their fellow students, as his eye twitched. _The youth of today has no respect for others._

* * *

It could be heard for miles as it echoed throughout the forest. It kept getting louder and louder as he entered deeper into the darkness of the night. Cinpronio was going to inform Gambler about the Thread of Hope being once again out of order. But the sound that kept coming from nowhere, that whistling, that echoed everywhere, was scaring him.

The pink bird saw a light coming from the same spot where he met the dark, smiling freak. Was that him?

When he reached his destination he noticed a few things: the light came from a single candle, Gambler was not there but in his place was a lady wearing a fuchsia qipao while she applied make up on her face and that the whistling was coming from her.

"Who are you?" The flamingo asked the woman while reaching for a knife, just in case if it was necessary.

She turned her head and showed her face to the bird who staggered at the sight of a pretty girl. She was a yellow cat with rosy cheeks, big blue eyes and a hot and curvy body, "Hi there, you must be Cinpronio." Her voice was sweet and soft.

"Yes." He said slowly as he gazed at the beautiful feline in front him.

The feline then circled around him, "Gambler isn't around so he asked me to tell you your next order."

The bird huffed in annoyance, "Another one? I just want to get even with that little punk!"

She smiled at him like a child, "And you will, but first you must do as Gambler says."

"Fine, what am I supposed to do next?" Cinpronio gave in and accepted the weird shadow person's command.

The lady in front of him giggled like if she knew something he didn't as she pulled out a needle that was hidden behind her right ear.

He gulped.

There was a glint in her eyes, "What's the matter? Afraid of little me?"

She then held the bird close to her. "Gambler wants you to do a very important task."

"What is it?" He couldn't help but stammer. The girl was more intimidating and scarier than from a distance.

She leaned forward and slowly whispered in his ear, "Follow me then."

The female took the candle in her grasp and started to walk into the darkness of the forest gesturing the flamingo to follow but before the bird did anything such as moving forward, he asked something that was on his mind since he first saw her, "What's your name?"

She turned around and smirked, "They call me… _Wawa Lian_, but you can call me Lian."

_Doll Face, quite fitting_. Cinpronio thought to himself and followed the cat into whatever was waiting for him.

* * *

The dinner was awkward but everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. There was snickering from every corner as Shifu and all of his students ate their food with the two naked felines in the room. Frankie, as soon as she noticed Arc without a trace of clothing, waved it off, apparently, this was common about being near to the lion.

The best part was when everyone got past the fact that Zai and Arc were nude, every person on the table started conversing and getting to know each other better.

Of course, at first the ladies were blushing at seeing the lion once again walking around with no clothing. Naki didn't seem to be bothered by it. In fact, she was the first to start a conversation with the archeologist. Tigress, as well as Viper, was bothered by the two undressed cats but loosened up afterwards. The guys started making jokes and telling tales about missions they've gone to which made Arc tell tales about his own adventures.

Some thought that they were made up, like Po's, but they soon realized that the lion was speaking the truth since Nakira and Jagter confirmed it by saying that they had witnessed some of the archeologist's adventures.

Although most of the places that the lion mentioned didn't ring a bell to anyone of the Jade Palace, except for the other two lions and Frankie, who was still in the kitchen preparing the desert, knew those places since they could only be found in The Underground.

The rabbit chef gestured the lion, with a fake coughs, to change the subject since no one, apparently, in the palace, let alone the entire valley, knew of the hidden world.

After Arc questioned the rabbit if she was sick, Frankie decided to change the subject herself, "So Master Shifu, I heard Lan Se was here earlier. I'm guessing you received the message."

The red panda visibly flinched at hearing her mention the letter. "Yes, he was here and he left just as soon as he handed it to me."

It saddened her to hear that the man she felt such strong emotions for had once again left her behind. This time it hurt more because she had finally mustered enough strength to tell him how she felt about him. Now she needed to wait for destiny to reunite them once more and she would make sure to tell him when she sees the cheetah again.

Tai Lung knew the messenger had arrived that day to deliver a message to the Jade Palace after searching for it in Frankie's restaurant. The panther, Xovius to be more specific, had told him that when he was inspecting the room in the upstairs of the abandoned farm a cheetah dressed in blue came out of the basement.

Seeing Shifu flinch at the mentioning of the message made the snow leopard wonder what was written on it. Needless to say, Tai Lung was going to find out the red panda's secret since it could be used as blackmail in the future.

It was truly an interesting dinner that unfortunately for some ended soon but for those who weren't comfortable around a certain nude lion were grateful that was over with.

They all went their ways after finishing their dinner and headed back to their respective dormitories.

Shifu felt better than earlier, knowing that Xue Zai was feeling better made him forget about everything else. When he opened the door to his room he was shocked to find none other than Zoi Zenigata sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

"What are you doing here?" Shifu demanded.

Zoi didn't even flinch nor did she got up from the red panda's bed, she simply responded him, "I am here to inform you about Zhi Peng's cause of death."

He raised an eyebrow, "And?" Shifu sounded a bit impatient but he wanted to know what exactly had occurred. The raccoon kindly explained him the yak's cause of death.

"He poisoned himself. That explains the sickly coloring of his body, the foam on his mouth and the broken glass on the floor which was the bottle that contained the poison. I guess he chose to die than have a gay son."

"Is that all?" He asked not sounding satisfied by the reporter's answer and explanation.

She nodded, "That is all, Master Shifu!"

He then noticed his cabinets, wardrobe and other furniture in his room and the thought came to his mind but instead of thinking it through Shifu blurted it out, "Were you going through my things?

"Why would I do that?" She asked him sounding more bemused than confused.

"To get dirt!" He snapped at her.

Zoi just smirked evilly, "I meant, why would I go through your personal belongings when I already know more about them than you?"

"How would you know anything about me? All you do is cause pain and suffering, you don't care about the wellbeing of others just as long as you're able to get a 'scoop'."

"You just described yourself, Shifu. Now, tell me something that I do not know about you." Zoi retorted sounding arrogant.

He huffed, "What would you know about me that would shock the world if they knew, hmm?"

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow and a wicked little smirk.

"Whenever you tell your students that you are going to read and study scrolls for hours you actually spend that time looking at pornography!"

His heart stopped while his cheeks burned red. _How did she…?_

Zoi added with disinterest, "Do not worry, if I wanted to publish that I would have done so a long time ago."

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" Shifu supplicated.

She looked at him in the eyes and answered him, "Until you learn your lesson I will never stop."

"What? What do you mean?" He sounded flabbergasted. What could the raccoon mean? He's one of the good guys, isn't he?

"Believe it or not Shifu, you are one of the bad guys, a villain, a bully, a monster!" She said it so coldly that the red panda felt chills from her words.

Saying that, she was about to exit the old master's bedchamber as he just stared at her dumbfounded by her words.

"How dare you say such things about me!" He yelled angrily at Zoi while he strode forward towards her, "I'm a kung fu warrior: a protector!"

She fired back, "Really? After everything you have done to others? Do you believe what you just said?"

He stood quiet not knowing how to answer her since anything he could say the raccoon would find a way to fire back. But mostly it was that he feared that she was right. He was striding to undo the wrongs he had committed in his past but could he really call himself what he believed himself to be after all the harm he caused to others.

"Rest on it, Shifu." She exited the room after saying that.

The red panda was speechless. No matter what he could do the past was in the past and nothing could change that. He knew that and everyone knew he was a good guy, a protector… he wanted to believe that. If Zoi thinks he's a threat maybe other people think the same, and the raccoon is very persuasive, she could make anyone believe anything and make the valley citizens go after him.

He wasn't going to rest; he was going to meditate. Maybe he could find a pleasing answer that way? But he also needed to relax himself; the raccoon just knew how to cause someone to feel anything but safe even in the safety of their own home.

What truly seemed to trouble him was what Zoi had said to him earlier that day: "You should be worrying about your students…"

He shivered at the thought. Was Zoi aiming for his students this time around? If that was the case than he needed to make sure she never gets close to them. Knowing what she's capable of, Shifu trembled thinking of what exactly she could do to any of his pupils if he or they weren't careful.

* * *

Tai Lung and Arc were both conversing in their shared bedroom after taking a much needed bath. The lion had stated that he hadn't bathe in days which proved to be the truth when the bathwater turned into mud.

Now both guys were (to everyone's delight) wearing pants and sharing stories, Arc's anecdotes to be more specific. All Tai Lung could do is listen to his friend tell his adventures. He didn't mind, he found that the lion truly was an interesting person and an amazing warrior.

The bigger feline's tales made him forget entirely of his worries… for now. He knew sooner or later he was going to face them but now he just wanted to get to know Arc better.

"Arc, did you make a move towards Naki?" Tai Lung asked with a cheeky smile.

The lion looked at the cub apologetically, "I was going to but then she wanted me to take off my armor and I chickened out."

To that the snow leopard changed his expression to one of confusion, "Why?" For what good reason would Arc chicken out so easily?

"I felt uncomfortable!" Arc responded scratching his head and avoiding the cub's gaze.

Tai Lung was going to punch his friend hard in the face if what he thought turned out to be true, "Arc, please don't tell me you're self-conscious about your body because you were dangling _it_ right in front of her this morning and during dinner!"

"It's not that! It's…" Arc stopped and sighed heavily. Definitely, something was bothering him but what?

Apparently Tai Lung wasn't the only one with big secrets. The snow leopard was going to demand the lion the reason for his cowardice towards Naki but he couldn't since he backed down on telling him his own secret earlier. Arc was his friend, his first one actually, and he didn't wanted him to be uncomfortable in any way.

"Arc, I'm curious about something." Tai Lung told the lion in order to change the subject.

"What?" Arc asked.

"Where are you from? Do you know anything about your parents or anything of the sort?" Tai Lung asked with a lot of interest since he wanted to know more about Arc it would be better to start with his origins.

The lion looked at him with his blank expression and told him what he knew of himself, "Well, all I remember it's that it was really cold and when I was born someone saved my life from an evil man. I was told that the evil man killed my family: my parents and my siblings. I was just a newborn baby at the time, the only reason why I know this is because the person who saved me took care of me for a few years till I learned how to walk, talk and take care of myself, in other words: when I was your age."

Whoa, Arc was hardcore, way more badass than Tai Lung but the snow leopard would never admit that to anyone. At the same time he felt like placing a paw on the lion's shoulder after hearing his origin story, after all, his friend had a rough life such as himself. All he did was look at the lion sympathetically with big sad eyes.

_And I thought I had an awful life!_

But Arc didn't seem to be as sad as the snow leopard expected him to be the lion kept that blank expression that appeared a lot on his face.

The snow leopard had found something that they both could relate: they were orphans who never met their parents, were both raised by someone who didn't gave damn about them and had their loved ones mercilessly slaughtered.

Despite the current mood in the air, the smaller feline didn't want the conversation right there.

"What was the name of the person who saved you?" Tai Lung asked out of curiosity.

The lion made an apologetic gesture and moved his shoulders upward once, "I don't know. That person never gave me a name so it's kind of ironic that he or she never told me its name either."

"He or she?" Tai Lung knew Arc can be easily distracted but to not notice something as important as the appearance of someone who raised him made the lion look dumb in his eyes.

The lion explained himself, "I was really young back then, I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman and after so many years I barely remember how that person looked like."

Then the lion shifted his attention to the cub and asked him, "What about you? Do you remember anything before Shifu adopted you?"

"No." Tai Lung figured that technically that wasn't a lie since he knew nothing where he came from just that he was left on Jade Palace's doorstep.

"I'm sorry." Arc said with as much sincerity as possible. Then he came up with another one of his absurd conclusion: Maybe Shifu is Tai's biological father? _That's why he doesn't remember anything else because he was born here and was never adopted!_

"What were you doing all day long?" Arc asked stating that he had missed Tai in the boy's absence.

The cub answered him, "I was looking for anything that could lead me to where the Patient One could have disappeared to."

Arc raised an eyebrow in a suspicious fashion, "Why are you so interested in him?"

"I just am." He retorted rapidly and it seemed to have done its job since Arc nodded in acceptance to the boy's answer and then the lion added a few words of interest.

"You know, I once met someone who resembled the Patient One in The Underground. Wait, was it The Underground?" The lion finished with a wondering stare in his face, scratching the side of his head as he strode down memory lane.

Tai Lung's ears pricked up, his eyes shot wide open and he asked the lion, with a desperate air, "Really? What's his name?"

Arc smiled as he remembered his friend, "He goes by _Gongju_ since he's gifted with the ability to use tools to build amazing things out of scrap."

"Is that his real name?" He couldn't help but show excitement in his words. Arc might be the key into finding Lei. Maybe the Patient One goes by that name so no one recognizes him.

Arc answered his question, "No, that's the nickname everybody gave him but last time I asked him about it he said he had no clue what his real name was."

Tai Lung couldn't help but smile broadly and bounce in excitement.

_Maybe this Gongju could really be Lei, the Patient One, trying to hide his identity with a fake name just like me!_

"Do you think you can introduce him to me?"

Now Arc looked sad, "Um, last time I saw him was five years ago when we pulled a big heist."

"What?" Tai Lung knew that in order to survive one needs to do whatever they can but become thieves.

Arc was happy remembering his adventures with his friend, "Yeah, he and I, and some of our friend, joined a band of thieves!"

"What happened after that?"

Arc explained, "Gongju and our friends wanted to use their abilities to help others and formed a team of their own. They asked me to join them but I turned down the offer, I wanted to explore the world and discover places and if I had stayed with them it would have been nice being with people I care about but it would have limited my adventures."

"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Tai Lung wasn't going to stop questioning the lion until he got what he wanted to know.

The lion shook his head, "You know if you are interested that much in the ghost kid, you should talk to some of the people at Gibaria. They say that once the Patient One stopped appearing in the Valley of Peace a few guards and citizens saw him a couple of time in that rickety city and rumor says that he was once seen in Zola, which is another city in The Underground."

"And you tell me this now?" Tai Lung yelled angrily.

"It slipped my mind!" Arc responded as apologetic like before.

Tai Lung grumbled under his breath and muttered few curses.

"Is everything okay in there?" Po suddenly asked, sounding concerned, as his shadow appeared on the rice paper door.

"Mind your own business you fat fuck!" The cub yelled at the nosy panda who actually flinched at listening those harsh words.

That seemed to work as the big, fat shadow on the door walked away after recovering from the boy's insult.

The lion yawned hugely. "It's getting late, we should go to sleep early because Shifu isn't going easy on anyone tomorrow!"

"Goodnight Arc!" Tai Lung said as he calmed down. If he wanted more information he would try to get it fully rested.

"Goodnight, Snow Cub!" Arc happily told the child whom listened carefuly this time the lion's words, especially, the name the older feline said just to make sure he didn't mishear anything.

They both rested their bodies in their respective bed as they tried to catch some sleep.

Arc tended to fall asleep faster than Tai Lung which proved to be truth when the cub heard soft snores coming from the still (but breathing, nevertheless) form of the archeologist, who was sleeping sideways with his back facing the cub.

The snow leopard just stared at the lion with interest. Somehow Arc had the answers to everything he was looking for and he always stands there beside him like a loyal friend, like the brother he never had, like the family he always wanted. _Like the family I never got a chance to…_

If there was something he admired from the lion was how he always lived in the moment, never caring of what people think of him and he always keeps a positive attitude.

He remembered what the lion had told him earlier: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" That was by far the most important question and wisest words anyone had ever told him.

He smiled at the sleeping lion and said, "Thank you for always being there for me; your friendship means a lot to me!"

The lion actually turned around, smiled and said gleefully, "You're welcome Snow Cub!"

"You were awake all this time and you let me admit that to you!" Tai Lung shrieked.

"Hey, you're the one who said it!"

But the lion, seeing the boy's reaction, knew how to sooth him, "If it makes you feel better I think you're special and one of the most interesting people I've ever met." Then he yawned, "Good night… again!" After saying that, he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep, this time for real.

The fact the lion thought him to be interesting said a lot because the archeologist is a traveler and has met many people and for him to say that the boy stands out means that he had somehow made an impact in the teenager's life and he was happy about that.

But what truly was taking most of his attention was Arc's wise question. He could be many things when he grows up but that was the problem: he was already a grown man, at least on the inside. How was he going to undo whatever black magic was used on him and become the proud and feared warrior that he was?

The Underground… maybe all the answers he's looking for are somewhere hidden below the earth, along with Lei and maybe others who survived as well.

Now Tai Lung had to choose between revenge against those who hurt and betrayed him or find the Patient One. What about fixing his body? There must be something down there that can turn him back to normal?

"What do I want to be when I grow up?" He whispered.

He looked around the room and breath in the air and released it.

_I don't know yet._

Maybe he had to look for something else? Maybe he had to refocus his goals in life? Was revenge more important than reuniting with _family_?

He sighed and listened to the silence of the night and was intrigued by it but something that occupied his mind for the moment was the snores coming from not just Arc but from other rooms which indicated that other students were asleep but he heard people talking in one of them, female voices came from the same dormitory. I guess the girls are having a slumber party.

He yawned and then he heard Arc muttering in his sleep, "Oh Naki if you want to see me naked all you have to do is ask!"

Tai Lung chuckled hearing the lion's constant desire for the girl he likes. The snow leopard wondered to what length Arc would go to win over Nakira's affections.

Then he remembered the lion being awkward around her, too awkward, and decided that he should set the two cats on a date... a blind date. It was, after all, a way to repay Arc for his kindness and being there for him. But how would he do it? How would he pair them up?

_Meh, I'll think of something once I've slept!_

He rested his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. Everything was quiet and peaceful as he drifted into the land of slumber and happy dreams.

"Hey, Tai!" Arc said loudly right beside him.

"GAAAAAH!" Tai Lung yelped and asked the lion for interrupting his slumber, "Arc, what the hell is wrong with you!"

_Wait, that came out wrong: What isn't wrong with you?_

"I was thinking that maybe we should have a walk around the valley... at night" The lion said happily.

"Why? Can't you see how late it is?" The cub complained.

Arc raised an eyebrow, smirked down at the cub and said in a sly tone, "All the best things happen late at night!"

He was about to protest but didn't; he had never been to the valley late at night. What things occurred in the dark while mostly every citizen, specially the children, slept and everything that isn't allowed during the day shows its face?

Tai Lung smirked, "Then what are we waiting for!"

* * *

Zoi was in her inn room, resting on her bed as she relaxed herself wanting to fall asleep already but she couldn't. Something was troubling her. But what?

Was it the yak's suicide? She didn't felt sorry for the man killing himself nor the fact that his family was suffering for their loss it was something about the topic that kept bothering her but she didn't know what it was.

Did she miss something, something important?

She remembered the suicide note and the words written on it, but only two of those words made her realize another conclusion: the yak _might_ have not committed suicide.

The words "you lose" that were written on the paper made her wonder if someone else was involved, someone she knew of.

But for what good reason would _The Gambler_ have to poison the yak and what is he doing in the Valley of Peace?

* * *

A/N: Where did Arc pull that ball of yarn out of? No, it's not where you think it is, let's just leave it as a mystery and so it stays funny that way!

Gongju means tools and in case if you're wondering, yes you will meet him later in the story... none of you are getting annoyed at the increasing amount of OCs, are you? Good! Who's the lady and how is she connected to the Gambler? Did the Gambler really kill the yak or not? And will Tai Lung tell Arc or anyone about his secret identity? What will the two felines do in the valley at night time? All of that (maybe) and more on the next thrilling installment of Heart of a Child!

Pretty please with bowties on top read and review


	13. Señorita Tigress

Here it is: the continuation of the previous chapter. Believe it or not this was hard to write because of college and because I'm trying to lead everything to fall in place so the plot stays the way I envisioned. Would you like to see in the next update: learning more of Arc, learn more of the Patient One, want more about The Underground, a fight sequence or something else you might be interested in? This chapter might have some strong content because of the theme of prostitution present so you have been warned, especially with a certain nude cat, and I'm not talking about Arc this time. Expect also a new developing romance in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 13: Señorita Tigress

* * *

"I told you prostitutes will do anything if you pay them!"

"I had no idea someone could gulp down an entire bottle of _shaojiu_ through her…" He couldn't even finish that sentence, shivering at the thought of the woman who drank the contents of a liquor bottle using another body part and not her mouth.

"Yeah… she'll be dead in the morning."

"And she only did it for two _yuan_!"

"Let's make another one do the same thing this time the lucky lady has to swallow a sword."

"Maybe later, now I want to see more."

"Good, cause the drunks should start a bar brawl any second now!"

"We should team up if we get caught up in the action."

"Why do you think I'm taking you there?"

Tai Lung smirked. He was having the time of his life as everywhere he looked something interesting was going on. But then he noticed something he never thought existed in the Valley of Peace.

"Look, it's a strip club!" Tai Lung said excitedly, he had never been to one before.

Arc on the other hand had been to many in the past. The lion looked at the cub in a fatherly matter, "Don't call it 'strip club' call it: 'where pregnant girls with daddy issues go to pay off their bills… or to pay off their education'."

Tai Lung chuckled after hearing the lion's joke but considering whom it was maybe Arc was serious about using that term for strip joints.

"Do you think the pole dancers will do our biding if we promise to pay them just like the hooker?" Tai Lung asked his friend.

Arc quickly responded, "There's only one way to find out!"

They entered the nearest strip club in the valley and they could see pretty much every husband, father and married men they had seen during the day with their families and loved ones, being model citizens and here they were being contradictions to themselves and to what they stand for.

Arc pointed at one of the performers and said, "Look over there, that one has just one leg and she's dancing on the pole!"

"Yikes!" There truly was no other word that Tai Lung could say to describe that.

The lion nudge the boy on his shoulder and added, "The best part is that they are cleaner and better taken care of than prostitutes. So you're not going to feel grossed out by their appearance!"

Suddenly, a one of the establishment's guards saw the young boy, "Hey, aren't you too young to be in here?"

Tai Lung didn't knew what to do, he most certainly could take this guy out but he didn't wanted to get in trouble so he thought of something quick, "I was born with the same disease that Master Shifu has that doesn't allow the body to grow."

The guard seemed to buy the lie, "Huh, I always wondered why a _panda_ was so small. Have fun!"

_Dumbass!_ "Oh I will!"

Arc then got the boy's attention as he showed him another performer on the stage, "Hey Tai, this one is willing to swallow a sword while she's dangling from the pole and juggle knives at the same time!"

"Move over!" The cub said excitedly.

While they watched the show, Tai Lung couldn't help but want to know more about his friend. Maybe once he knew enough of him, the snow leopard might trust him enough to tell him his secret. Maybe if he knew enough about the lion maybe Tai Lung could truly trust him with his biggest secret.

"Arc?" he waited till the lion responded by turning his attention to the boy, "What's your deepest, darkest secret?"

Unsurprisingly, the lion looked at him confused, "Um, why do you want to know that?"

"If you tell me, I'll tell you mine!" He wasn't lying. If the lion told him his then he will tell him his secret.

"Tai, tonight is for having fun, just enjoy it; let loose!"

Maybe he did need to loosen up for once, after all, he had never been able to do so in the past.

His thoughts were interrupted as the lion shook him by the shoulder, "Ooh look at that one: it's a dude!"

Tai Lung looked at where Arc was pointing and quickly regretted it as the male performer was wearing nothing more than a skin-tight-

The snow leopard violently shook his head trying to forget that image.

Arc watched his reaction, "What's the big deal? You've seen my shlong many times now!"

"Don't remind me!"

Arc just laughed and then added, "Besides, Po has been showing her breasts since the day I got here and you don't mind her toplessness!"

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow and stared at the bigger cat next to him with utter confusion and a bit of disgust, "Arc… Po is a man."

Arc snickered and patted the cub on the shoulder, "That's a good one! Po… a _man_! Have you seen her squishable boobs!"

"Arc, I've seen his _balls_! He's a man!" Tai Lung responded levelly with a serious face which made Arc realize that the boy wasn't joking.

"Oh you're serious? Wish someone would have told me that sooner before I fantasized about groping his manboobs!"

"Great, now _that_ image is in my head!"

Arc laughed which annoyed the cub even further until there was silence between them until the lion's face became that blank, clueless expression of his, "Hey, Snow Cub?"

"Yeah?"

"How exactly did you see Po's balls anyway? Did he walk up to you and pulled down his pants and showed them to you?

"No!" The cub snapped.

"Oh," A beat. "You were curious and pulled them down yourself."

Tai Lung responded sounding quite angry and annoyed, "No, dammit, he performed a standing split and they squeezed out of his pants!"

"Oh," The lion's expression then changed into a smug one, "Mine are way better looking than his, right?"

Tai Lung groaned loudly and hid his face with his paws. _I swear if it weren't for the fact that I like you, Arc, you would've been dead by now!_

* * *

Something that always seemed to draw her attention was food. No matter where she went food always impacted her life and Frankie was looking for any place where she could be served a traditional Chinese meal. Bur where could the rabbit find a nice restaurant at this hour of the night?

A loud crash got her attention. She could swear she heard someone cry in agony. It came from a closed house but there was a light coming from the inside.

She ran to the entrance door and recognized that it was the nice goose's noodle shop. Something must have happened to him.

Frankie tried to open the door but it was locked. No surprise since most every house, shop and stand were closed up for the night.

Inside the restaurant Mr. Ping was trapped beneath a pile of crates that were crushing his body. "If anyone can hear me, please, help me!"

He was only trying to move the supplies into the pantry but it ended up falling down on him. That used to be Po's job but he was too busy training and studying kung fu.

The goose struggled to get out of the heavy mount of wooden crates that kept crushing him even further the more he tried to escape. It was getting harder to breath as the weight of supplies seemed to increase.

With one last attempt at freeing himself, Ping stopped and rested on the floor, "So this is how it ends?" He sighed to himself as he closed his eyes in defeat.

_I hope Po doesn't mourn about me for long… who am I kidding? He doesn't need me now that he has kung fu._ There were tears running down his face. Then the goose felt the weight of the crates getting lighter as he was able to breathe easier. Ping sniffed and tried to crawl out of the pile with all his strength and might until he was out of the wreckage.

Once out he noticed who his rescuer was: the white rabbit girl from the other day wearing a white, short dress with long sleeves.

"Oh thank you so much miss!" The goose hugged the rabbit in a strong embrace.

"You're welcome!" The rabbit reassured him.

He let go of her and his expression displayed confusion, "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything but how did you enter? I locked every door."

"The thing is locks can't keep a magician from escaping nor, in this case, entering anything."

"Thank you very much miss…" He wanted to thank her properly but he didn't knew his rescuer's name.

The white rabbit gave him the answer he wanted. "…Frankie French Fry."

"Well let me thank you properly by-" He stopped right in his pace as the realization of just who was in his restaurant sank in. He slowly turned around, eyes wide, and stared the rabbit in the room. "You're _the_ Frankie French Fry?" Ping couldn't help but smile while his voice was a bit caught in his throat.

"That's me!" She said like if it was a casual thing to say.

"Frankie French Fry… in _my_ restaurant!" The goose wasn't able to hide the excitement in his voice and face. Why didn't he recognize her the day she came to his noodle shop?

Frankie on the other hand was concerned with the goose, "Um, sir, are you alright? I mean, you were beneath a pile of crates filled with vegetables."

"Yes, yes, I'm perfectly fine! How did you know I was in danger of almost being crushed to death?"

"I heard you scream and rushed my way inside until I found you beneath the wreckage."

"What was a culinary legend such as yourself doing in the valley this time of night? It can be dangerous." He was interested to know what someone as famous as her would be doing in the middle of the night.

Frankie knew what he was talking about the dangers of a chef being all alone during night time, "Those ninja chefs would never get anywhere near me if they knew what's good for them!"

"I wasn't talking about them, though that would be worse," Ping shivered at the thought of chef ninjas invading the valley and stealing recipes and passing them as their own, "I meant that despite the name, this valley can be dangerous at night."

"I defeated Master Mantis." She added.

He couldn't argue with that logic.

Frankie filled the man's interest in her visit of the valley, "Since you're so interested in my reason for being in the valley at night, I was just interested in tasting some of the traditional food that can only be found here and only here."

His face lit up, "I'm glad that you mention that because I have an old family recipe that I would like you to try!"

This wasn't the first time a chef had gone up to her to ask Frankie to try their signature dish and see if the famous rabbit approved of it.

She smiled and nodded, accepting the goose's offering. This was the reason why she was in the valley so late, Frankie wanted to taste whatever the bird specialized in and see if it truly met with her standards.

Ping couldn't be any happier seeing the rabbit agree to taste his food that he told her to take a seat and that her Secret Ingredient Soup would be ready in a few minutes.

She didn't want to sit there in silence while the food was getting prepared so she started a conversation in a really smart way, "So your son is the Dragon Warrior, huh?"

"He sure is!" Ping responded happily from the kitchen as he started chopping vegetables.

"How did he ended up being the Dragon Warrior?"

"Oh it's a long story…" And so he told the rabbit about his son's tale.

After listening to the goose's story of how Po became a kung fu warrior, Frankie then asked him if business was doing well without his son, his assistant, around to help him.

"More people have been coming to the shop to order food but mostly they just want to see Po and it has been difficult to run the restaurant without him helping me with customers' orders but I get by."

"You wanted him to follow your footsteps, didn't you?" Frankie didn't knew if it was a good thing to ask that but she had said it.

"No, I always wanted him to be happy but he never told me he wanted to study kung fu and if he would have mentioned it I would have considered finding a place that would take him in as a student to teach him martial arts." There was a note of sadness in his voice.

"So he abandoned you just like that?" She asked sounding a bit cold about it.

"I don't look at it that way, it's in some way inspirational that he followed his dreams. It makes me want to follow my dream of adding tofu to the menu…" His face fell once more, "Though, I would have loved for him to have been honest with me from the very beginning."

In that moment Frankie remembered what Zoi herself had said to her when the Furious Five and the panda had been properly bandaged up and resting in a warm bed. _I guess she was right: Po is an ungrateful brat._

Her thoughts reminded her of what people in The Underground and/or outside of China had said to her about the so called Dragon Warrior that he was by far the worst possible choice and that he was nothing more than an attention whore.

Mr. Ping broke the silence that had formed, "Miss Frankie French Fry, have you ever been to this valley before?"

"No, I have not. This is the first time I've ever visited the Valley of Peace. I always wondered if I should open another restaurant here since I heard that this is a great place for tourists to venture, stay and help the economy by consuming services and products supplied by the valley itself."

"Looks like someone did her homework!" The goose joked.

The rabbit responded all knowingly, "If one wants to open a restaurant the most important thing is to make sure that customers enter and keep coming back."

"I've heard rumors that you entertain your customer while they wait for their meals and while they are enjoying them. Can you… please, demonstrate for me?" He was excited to have her there but he wanted to know if the rumors were true about her.

"With pleasure!" She stood up, slowly spread her arms in a gentle and graceful manner and, with the same movements, waved her hands. The goose who was now stirring the soup ingredients in the broth, decreased the fire's heat and stared at the rabbit's performance.

In a way no one could explain, a table in the corner levitated and moved to the center of the courtyard where the goose served his customers. Then Frankie pointed at a table cloth, folded on top of the counter and just like the other unanimated object from it started to float in the air as it opened up placed itself neatly on the same table that Frankie animated a few seconds ago.

It was the most amazing thing the goose had ever witnessed. How did she do it? Was she a witch? Nevertheless, he applauded her for such a wonderful performance.

She took bow and took her seat afterwards.

"That was incredible, Miss Frankie French Fry!" He was still applauding and was speaking in a way that resembled Po when he talks about kung fu, "How is it that your restaurants are able to live up to their name since you only stay in your new restaurants for a few weeks and then you're barely seen there?"

"That would be because I train my new employees personally with my cooking techniques as well as a few tricks and make sure that they can handle running a restaurant and when I see that it is safe to leave I give each one their positions in the kitchen and I go my way into whatever it is next that the world has in store for me."

He was impressed by her and wanted to know more of such an inspiring chef, "And you do that all by yourself?"

"Not really, I have my assistant chef with me at all times, Pierre. If I'm not able to attend a food service then he takes over." Frankie spoke proudly of the pale brown rabbit that, no matter what, stands by her side as an assistant and sometimes a body guard.

The goose sighed, "Po used to be my assistant chef…"

"Maybe you need to hire someone else." She said trying to lift his mood.

He shook his head, "I can't, if I do that then Po might think he's not wanted here anymore."

"Well if your son left you alone to pursue his dream I don't think he would mind being replaced, his job that is!" She sounded a bit harsh and she cursed at herself for allowing herself to react that way.

Mr. Ping didn't seemed bothered by it and answered her, "I'm sorry, I could never do that to Po; he means the world to me!"

"Suit yourself, but if you ever need help I'll be glad to assist you."

His heart seemed to stop as his eyes grew wide and his beak hung open. Frankie French Fry, The Frankie French Fry, someone he idolized, wanted to cook alongside him in his very own kitchen! What an honor! "Of course, of course I would love your help Miss Frankie French Fry!" He couldn't but tear up a bit. One of his fantasies has been to cook alongside the famous rabbit chef. He wanted to kick himself for sounding like a crazy desperate fan boy.

"Please, call me Frankie!" She said it in a somewhat flirty way that Ping felt the room got a little hotter, even though, he was in a kitchen.

"Whatever you say… Frankie!" He couldn't help but giggle like a fan girl.

They both spent the majority of the time exchanging tales from some of their most memorable dinner services.

"How is that friend of yours, she interview two days ago, she's a nice well-mannered lady?" Ping asked out of curiosity.

"You mean Zoi, she interviewed you?" _What is she up to now? _"She's fine, if you haven't read the news articles then you don't know what's going on in the valley!"

"Oh I read them alright and she was kind enough to mention my restaurant as one of the 'Places You Need to Visit in the Valley of Peace' spread." He sounded delighted by the raccoon's kind heart.

Frankie smiled but nevertheless she couldn't imagine why would Zoi do something like that unless if there was a catch.

"Are you single?" Ping suddenly asked, again out of curiosity.

"I am, unfortunately!" There was a tone of regret in her voice.

"Really, someone who specializes in what most men are mostly interested in: food, is single?" _Maybe Po might be interested in her?_

"Well, I have my eyes on someone but every time I have the chance to tell him the way I feel… I just don't have the strength."

"Oh, I see." Then he grabbed a bowl and served her his locally famous dish. He was hoping that his noodles would brighten her mood and that it was the traditional food she was looking for. Ping placed it on the table, right in front of her, and took a few steps back to give the rabbit room while she enjoyed her meal.

Before Frankie picked up the pair of chopstick that Ping had placed on the table for her, the rabbit grabbed the bowl by both side and lifted it to her mouth. However, she said a few words before tasting the anything from the ceramic dish.

"The best way to taste if a noodle soup is really great is to start by tasting the broth, then the noodles and finally dig in by enjoying the entire dish. That's how critics evaluate broth related meals, remember that!"

She placed her lips on the rim of the bowl, tilted it and sipped the steamy broth. On the instant she tasted the hot liquid her eyes shot wide open and her pupils constricted as she realized something about the soup.

* * *

"Are you sure they went this way?"

"Positive." Tigress responded.

"Good, know which direction did Arc went?"

"Seriously, what do you see in him?" Viper asked the teenage lioness.

Nakira answered her with her usual timid yet approachable fashion, "I've actually asked myself that many times before and that is how I found out I was in love!"

"For someone to actually want to be with him for their entire life: it must be love!" The serpent added.

Naki was blushing now, "What's not to love about him? He's sweet, funny, kind and caring… not to mention, he's hot, especially with no clothes on!" After saying the last part, her entire face had turned a shade of red.

"And _you_ are naughtier than you look!" Viper teased.

Naki just giggled at the reptile's comment.

They were in the streets of the Valley of Peace looking for the two rebellious felines.

The lioness knew the archeologist pretty well and if someone could find him that would be her, "Knowing Arc, he's probably searching for some entertainment or breaking the rules."

"Like what?" Tigress asked.

"Probably asking prostitutes to do humiliating things for money."

"He does things like that?" Viper sounded a bit incredulous even though they were talking about Arc.

"Oh yeah!"

"Where do you suggest we start looking?" Tigress asked the girl.

"I say we search every bar in the valley. If Arc is with Zai, they must be in one of them."

"You know your man inside out, don't you?" Again, Viper teased the girl.

Naki responded her in the same manner, "Well, I do my best."

Tigress, on the other hand, was devising a plan to search for the boys, "We should split up and cover more ground."

Viper disagreed with the tiger, "Tigress, let's just stay together and have a good time doing so. This could be the last time we ever get to have fun."

However, the tiger did not change her mind.

"Let's just find those two brats and get this over with."

* * *

_Earlier that night…_

The three female students were in Naki's room getting to know each other better.

They were having a 'girl talk' and enjoying stories from their past and sharing a laugh or two. The palace was getting full of boys only and finally a new girl joined. And about time since Viper was getting tired that the only normal conversations with a male were with Crane, and sometimes, Shifu and was thankful because the place was starting to smell like "dude". Tigress was actually happy that another female was representing women everywhere to prove that girls are just as good as men.

"I am so glad you joined, it's been so long since I talked to someone about going shopping!" Viper said joyfully to the teenager.

"Maybe we should go down to the valley someday and shop till we drop!" Nakira said to the reptile.

The serpent immediately wrapped her body around the young feline in an embrace, "You and I are going to be really good friends!"

That's when the three female students heard the two boys conversing in their shared room, and then they heard Zai yell at Po and their full attention went to the boys until they heard their faint footsteps as they both attempted to sneak away from their room down the hallway, trying not to wake anyone.

"What are those two boys up to now?" Tigress groaned a bit.

"I say we follow them and find out!" Naki wasn't going to waste a good chance to spend time with Arc.

"I'm with you on this one." Tigress on the other hand wanted to bust the two young cats and get them in trouble with Master Shifu after all, she was tired of those two brats causing trouble and disrespecting her master and getting away with it.

"Splendid! Now let me get dressed. My mother got me this beautiful _gomesi_ from one of her lines."

Viper heard the girl and was a bit shy to say the next words.

"Um, do you think you could tell your mother to get me a few of her designs?"

"Sure!" Naki said from behind the dressing screen in her room.

Viper squealed in joy but Tigress wished that they both took haste before the two males got out of reach.

"Let's hurry before we lose track of them!"

* * *

_Back to the present._

Soon Tigress, Viper and Naki had lost track of the feline getaways and were looking for any sign of the two runaways.

"The sooner we find them the better." Tigress said.

Viper eyed her friend, "You need to relax a bit, Tigress; we're out of the palace, let's have some fun for once!"

"What I need is to show those two brats discipline and once I tell our master about this they will be in loads of trouble."

"Tigress, we snuck out without permission as well. If our master finds out we will be in just as much trouble as they are."

She hadn't thought of that and now her scheme was ruined because she overlooked that little detail.

"We need to get back before Master Shifu finds out that we snuck out." The tiger master responded as she turned to leave up to the palace until she was stopped.

Naki grabbed the tiger by her paw, "Come on, Tigress, this could be my one and only chance to get Arc's attention. And who know? You might find your special someone tonight!"

"As if that will ever happen… but I guess I can help you out with your man problem if any sort of danger comes your way I'll be there to dispose of it."

"I feel safe already!"

* * *

As the loud chuckling and laughter coming from the two felines echoed off of the streets and alleys, Arc and Tai Lung ran away from the crime scene, er, victim of their prank. They left a sack full of the surprise contents in their target's doorstep, knocked on the door till they heard "I'm coming, I'm coming", set fire on the bag, fled the scene before the _magistrate_ walked out. When the man noticed no one there but instead saw a something burning he immediately started stomping on the object to put out the flames. Once the fire had subsided, the magistrate noticed what he had been stepping on and shrieked as loud as he could.

"That was the best thing we've done tonight so far!" Tai Lung exclaimed

"And the night is not over yet!" Arc said as he tried to control his breathing.

"I'm so glad you defecated in that sack!"

"Well, when you got to go you got to go!"

Then both of them heard a woman cry out from the house next to them and out of the front door came out, completely nude except for the metal plates he was holding to cover his crotch, was the same panther from earlier that day.

The black cat was arguing with a woman and by the sound of her voice she was the same lady who had screamed and she seemed to be angry at someone, most likely the naked panther.

"Don't be like that!" The black feline cried out in his smooth but not accented voice but then the accented one spoke, "Yes, I was just marking you with a burning piece of steel so wherever you are you can always think of me every time you see that burn mark shaped like a panther on your arm!"

"Get out and never come back!" A woman yelled from inside the house.

"Please, you know you're the only whore in my life!" Xovius tried to plea with the woman.

"I'm not a prostitute!"

This time it was Alvar who responded, "You're having an affair with Xovius by accepting his money. That officially makes you one!"

That seemed to anger the female even further, "Just get out and never come back!" And with that she slammed the door closed.

"Forget it Xovius, just get yourself another unfaithful wife and start another relationship!" Alvar said as he patted his left shoulder.

The panther with the accented sighed as seemed to calm down, "You're right, Alvar!"

Xovius suddenly yelled out to the woman inside the house, "At least give me back my trousers! Or something to cover my swimsuit area!"

"Go to hell!" The woman cried out.

That made the feline lose it as he started clawing at the wooden structure with rage, "Bitch, give us back the rest of our clothes!"

Arc and Tai Lung had watched the whole display go through in front of them and before the snow leopard said anything to the angry panther, the lion beat him to it.

"Funny thing running into you two here!"

The anther stopped as his anger dissipated and turned his attention to the owner of the voice, "Xovius, look!" Alvar pointed at the lion and then he spoke with his accented voice, "Ah, good old Arc!"

"It's good to see you two again!" The lion said as he strode forward to greet the panther. Tai Lung just wondered if those two (or three) had met before.

The panther saw who came with the lion and pointed at the cub, "And look who's with him," Alvar spoke and then Xovius noticed the boy, "The little boy who curses a lot!"

"That's him!" Arc exclaimed as he punched, playfully, the cub's shoulder.

Should it really surprise him that, by far, the two weirdest people he had ever met knew each other? Tai Lung eyed them both and it seemed to make sense that the panther was nude save for the metallic plates covering his shame.

_Note to self: insane cats tend to appear naked in public. _Tai Lung thought to himself.

"You two know each other?" The cub asked.

Alvar was the one to answer, "We met a few years back when an old friend needed our help pulling the heist of the century."

"What exactly did you robbed?" Tai Lung was curious to know just what could be considered 'the heist of the century'.

Arc placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him sympathetically and, somewhat, apologetically, "Some things are better left a secret, Snow Cub!"

Tai Lung huffed, "Whatever, the night's still young, let's have more fun… but first you need to get dressed!" There was no way he was going to walk around with a naked man beside him. He already had Arc and one nudist feline was all he could handle.

Hearing the boy's words, the panther threw his paws up which caused him to release the metal plates that were hiding his manhood and just like Arc had done so many times before, he wasn't bothered being completely nude in public and was not even bothering to hide himself.

The lion, however, raised an eyebrow and eyed the cub suspiciously, "It doesn't bother you when I'm naked, heck, _you_ were naked with me just a few hours ago while we ate dinner and every of our fellow students and our teacher were staring! Why would it bother you when someone else isn't wearing anything?"

Before Tai Lung said anything, Alvar spoke, "Don't worry, I'm not thinking of spending the chilly night in my birthday suit." Then Xovius disagreed, "Says you; the night is rather warm!"

They were going to start arguing about the nights temperature but before any of those two started bickering Arc solved the problem, "How about a drink to cool you down? My treat!"

"You know us too well; you know we can't resist a nice glass of booze!" Xovius exclaimed.

Arc already knew where they were heading if they wanted to have a nice drink, "Come on, there's this pub that I've heard serves the best liquor in the whole valley."

As Tai Lung followed the lion to the pub they stopped when they heard the panther, Alvar, to be more specific, "Wait for us you two, we're trying to put this thing on."

The snow leopard saw the panther trying to place armor, which looked to be a metallic speedo, around his waist, of course it was a codpiece made entirely of metal. Once the black feline had covered himself with just that piece and that only, he strode along with the two younger cats.

It was quiet at first until the panther asked a question… to himself.

"Xovius, do you think we'll find the one for each other tonight?"

Arc, being the kindhearted person that he is, added, "Alvar, I'm sure that one day _both_ of you will find a lucky lady!"

The panther smiled and ruffled the young lion's mane, "I always liked that about you, always lifting people's moods!"

Tai Lung couldn't argue with that since he had experienced the lion's uplifting many times before and they seem to work their charm… sometimes.

The cub then noticed another bar and this one was more colorful and flashier than the rest and by sounds coming from the inside everyone must have been having a good time in there.

"Let's go to this bar instead." He sounded exited after all, his child hormones (that's how he called them) were kicking in and all he wanted to do was enter the colorful and friendly-looking place.

Arc and the panther eyed the establishment and both of them then gave the child a sympathetic look, however, it was the lion who spoke, "I wouldn't go there if I were you."

"Why not?" What could possibly be so wrong about this other bar?

Arc said it simply and with a flat tone, "That's a gay bar."

"Oh."

And with that they continued walking down the dark streets of the valley until they reached the place they were looking for.

The three (four?) cats entered the bar and it seemed more pleasant and friendlier than the others Arc and Tai Lung had crashed earlier that night by joining the brawl that was occurring at the time they entered and came out victorious.

Once inside they took a seat and waited for someone to take their order. That was something that separated that bar from the others found there: it was a family friendly place where no one had to yell to get their order but wait, patiently, for someone to attend them.

"Look at all of the women in here!" Alvar said and then Xovius spoke, "I know, most of them must be looking for someone to cheat their husbands."

Despite that they were always together (no pun), Alvar didn't like that about his close friend since women might view him in the same manner and could ruin his chances for finding true love one day, "Maybe we should find a lady each and not one that's already taken."

"You can settle with just one but I intend to have as much fun and keep finding it for the rest of my life!"

"Suit yourself but when I'm the one in a happy relationship, please, keep your genitals away from my woman."

"Deal!"

* * *

"The chances of finding the boys in the first bar we try is rather slim." Tigress told the two other ladies accompanying her.

"Well, this is the friendliest bar in the valley and wouldn't children prefer such places?" Viper tried to convince her friend in the hoping that she let loose a bit and enjoyed the night.

"Arc wouldn't because he would rather go to a more exciting place, but maybe Zai would." Naki reasoned.

"Once we see any sign of those two we grip them by their ears and drag them both up to palace and leave Shifu for their punishments." Tigress was still on the idea of busting the two cats for always misbehaving and insulting her master, even though, she might get in trouble herself but she thought it was worth it to see those brats get what was coming to them.

Viper wasn't going to let her friend ruin their fun, "Tigress, we're down here for a change! Let's at least have a little fun; girls night out!"

The tiger master groaned loudly and rolled her eyes.

"Who knows? Maybe you will meet 'the one' tonight!" Viper added with a musicality in her voice.

"Like that's ever going to happen. We are here for a reason, don't forget that."

"We are here because Naki wants to seduce Arc somehow?"

"You know what I meant." She groaned and crossed her arms.

They entered the establishment and like always Tigress was on the job despite of what the serpent wanted her to do, "Remember, we're looking for those two boys. If there is no sign of them here we'll head for the next-"

"There they are!" Naki said as she saw Arc's distinctive mane stand out.

And so they were, on a table right in the middle of the room, having a good time as they talked about everything they had done that night.

"Hey there Arc!" Naki greeted the male lion.

The male lion's ears pricked up at hearing his crush's voice and turned to where it came from and, to his delight, Nakira was standing in front of him, wearing a gorgeous sky blue _gomesi_ decorated with orange flowers stitchings, smiling in a way he found similar to her mother except when she stared at him like that he didn't feel intimidation because of her beauty but instead he all he could feel from her presence, stare and beauty was the warm feeling all teenage boys get when their hormones start kicking into gear.

"Naki, what are you doing here?" Arc noticed how rude that sounded, "Not that I have a problem with you being here it's just that it's so late and…"

"Me, Tigress and Viper decided to come down here to…" She wasn't going to reveal that the real reason was because she wanted to spend time with him, "…to have a girls night out!"

He peeked behind the lioness and saw the two masters, "Oh I didn't notice them! It's hard to notice anything else with you in the room!"

She blushed but didn't let it deter her because she wanted him to notice it. Hopefully, that would make him realize that she's into him.

"You came here for a drink? I thought your mother prohibited you and your siblings from ingesting liquor till you grow old enough?" Arc asked sounding a bit incredulous that such a nice girl would drink at such a young age.

"She does but I came here hoping to have a good time and with finding you here I'm sure that that will happen." She told him and then added a little bit of information about the place, "And from what Viper told me, not everything they serve here has alcohol in it."

"They do?" He looked completely clueless about that topic, "Look at that, Snow Cub, now you don't have to drink _baijiu_!"

"Oh yes I will! You're not taking my booze away from me!" Tai Lung snapped. After dealing with Arc for days he needed to find a way to relief himself from all the stress.

However, Arc wasn't going to protest the boy's decision, "Fine, drink all the booze you want. Naki, what do you want?"

"I'll have what you're having, as long as it doesn't contain alcohol."

A porcine waiter arrived at the table and placed a big pitcher full of the crystal-clear liquid in front of the male teenager, "Your baijiu is here!"

Arc reacted by pushing the glass container to the floor, spilling it's content on the waiter himself, "I changed my mind, I want the fruit salad… for two!"

The snow leopard let out a groan knowing that he wouldn't get his helping of alcohol but Tai Lung felt that this was a great chance for Arc and Naki to develop feelings for each other and it would be a great first date.

He quietly left the two teenagers alone and headed towards Alvar who was in a corner doing whatever he was doing.

"Alvar… or Xovius, what are you doing?"

"This codpiece is crushing my nuts!" Xovius groaned. "I'm readjusting it!"

"Then do it where no one can see you somewhat playing with yourself in public!"

"Zai, stay away from strangers, he can be dangerous…" Tigress eyed the masculine back view of the black feline and saw that the fellow was naked save for the armor around his waist that covered his rump and groin (she hoped), but it only took one glance at him to know that he wasn't the kind of person a small child should stay near of, "…he might be a pervert."

The panther turned around and face whoever dared to call him a 'pervert', maybe Xovius but not him, Alvar, an honorable man. He was about to lambaste whoever it was but instead he just stood there in shock as he stared at the female tiger with wide eyes, in other words, he was astonished by the beauty of the woman in front of him.

Tigress wasn't so far from doing the same as the handsome, muscular panther turned around and showed his well-endowed and attractive front side but after years of meditation and learning self-control she was able to resist her urges, "Yes, is there something wrong?"

"Everything… is perfectly clear, ma'am." Alvar actually had a hard time making words leave his mouth.

Tigress raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you alright?"

Unfortunately, Xovius was the one to answer her and he did it in the worst way possible, "He said 'everything is perfectly clear', does having a small rack make woman more likely to be deaf!"

Tigress glared at the panther and huffed loudly, "Just stay away from me!"

The panther then hit his left arm in chastising manner. It was Alvar who spoke next but to Xovius, "Thanks a lot, you just ruined my chances with her."

The panther with the deep accented voice took a closer look at the tiger and made a sound of disgust, "Did you saw the size of her breasts? Trust me, I did you a favor! There weren't enough for one person to _motorboat_."

_What's a 'motorboat'?_ Tai Lung thought to himself.

Tigress snarled at the panther and turned to the small cub, "Xue Zai, come."

Alvar was getting frustrated by his friend's attitude towards the tiger, "Xovius, stay quiet and leave me alone for a few minutes." Xovius then looked a bit hurt, "What happened to the Alvar who loved to screw around with his buddy?"

"He found a beautiful bachelorette." Alvar said with hopeful eyes as he stared down the female tiger in front of him.

Xovius took another look at the tiger, whom he thought had too much masculine traits for his liking, and retorted, "Fine but when you pull down her pants and a wiener flops out don't come crying to me!"

"Just look at her crotch," Alvar snapped, "I don't see a bulge anywhere, do you?"

He went after the female tiger and grabbed her wrist, which made her stop on her tracks, turn around and glare at the panther, ready to tear his face apart.

The panther held her hand in a graceful manner and spoke cordially, "I didn't even introduce myself, my name is Alvar, my fair _señorita_. What is yours?"

She forcefully freed her wrist from his grip but, nevertheless, answered him, "I'm Master Tigress and if you value your ability to breath you will never lay a paw on me!"

His face fell from a happy one to a sad one as she turned to leave. However, Tai Lung reassured the panther the best way he knew and that was by telling his own opinion of the tiger master.

"Don't waste your time with her, she's just a coldhearted bitch with no sense of humor because Master Shifu never found her good enough to be a kung fu prodigy and if there is something dryer and colder than her heart that would be her snatch, in other words, you do not want to stick it in there!"

Tigress turned around and glared at the boy with murder written in her stare, "You little punk!"

Fortunately, Viper stopped her before there were any injuries, "Tigress, don't start a fight besides he's just a kid, and I saw the look you gave that hunk when he turned around!"

"He's attractive, I'll admit that… but he's a complete psycho, _he talks to himself!_"

"It's a girls night out, have some fun tonight and if there truly is no hope between you and him than there is nothing to worry about."

She had a point, this was the only time in her life that she had ever let loose enough to leave the palace for no appearing reason but to have fun. And she had to admit that the panther was exactly what she always picture the man she would spend the rest of her life with should look like. _And I'm starting to sound just like Viper._

"May I get you a drink, _señorita_ Tigress?" Alvar asked the female feline in the hopes that she would accept his offer.

Tigress huffed but gave in, "Fine, I guess a shot wouldn't hurt."

Tai Lung saw that he wasn't exactly needed anywhere, seeing Arc and Naki conversing in their table and Alvar was taking a seat with Tigress, and headed outside hoping that his friend made a move towards the girl he liked without screwing it up.

Once outside of the establishment, he stared at the starlit sky and took a deep breath and exhaled afterwards. Had he ever had a chance to appreciate something as simple as the stars in the night? His mind of course was thinking about the Patient One, if he truly was in The Underground then Arc could be his only hope to finding him. In other words, he wanted to go on a journey through the hidden world with the lion as his guide in search of Lei.

Lei. The name echoed in his head. Then other words appeared in his thoughts as they haunted his every waking moment.

"_They're escaping! Kill them all!"_

He shook his head trying to get rid of those bad memories and then what he saw was flowers but not the ones from his dream they were in a pot being held by someone. He focused his attention to the person holding them and it was the flower shop rabbit lady who helped him the other day.

The cub approached her, "Don't flower shops close early?"

The brown rabbit looked at the boy and smiled, "Good to see you again, I hope you found Mr. Ping's noodle shop?"

"I did, thanks."

"That's good to know. The reason why the store is still opened is because… um, how should I say it?"

"It's actually a whorehouse by night." The cub finished and then added, "I'm fully aware of what that is, ma'am."

She was shocked that a little boy knew of such things but she waved it off, "Ever since the secret got out clients haven't been coming to buy flowers, but those who do come, they want other services."

How coul he ask the question without it sounding insulting? "So does that mean that you're a…"

"…whore. I prefer: woman of the good life!" She wasn't exactly proud of what she said and explained herself, "I used to but then my boss told me that I was better tending the shop during the day while it's a flower shop which I prefer because I never liked selling my body in the first place... my life was just complicated back then."

Tai Lung wasn't going judge her after all his best friend was a certified freak and he was a hated person throughout the empire, "I didn't even catch your name."

"Jun Ma, my name is Jun Ma."

"I'm Ta-, Xue Zai!"

"Pleased to meet you, even though we've already met, you little cutie!" She said as she pinched his cheeks.

"Please don't ever do that again."

"That will be hard, especially with cheeks as chubby as yours!"

"I mean it!" Tai Lung said sternly.

"Fine, kids, always wanting to be treated like adults! I hope you go to bed soon because little children shouldn't be up this late."

He watched her go, disappearing into the darkness of the night and decided to enter the bar, hoping that things between the two teenage lions had gone good so far and what he saw was the most random thing he had ever seen and after being in Arc's company for a while now that said a lot.

Tigress was smooching Alvar and there was no sign of her wanting to stop herself. What the hell happened when he stepped outside? How much did he miss out on?

The two adult felines broke apart to get a breather and the tiger seemed to be a bit light-headed and that's when Tai Lung noticed the many empty glasses on her side of the table. When she let herself loose she doesn't hold back, apparently.

"I think you've had enough for tonight." The panther said to the tiger with his unaccented voice as he tried to take away the bottle of liquor from her reach.

"I'll have…" Tigress hiccupped, "I'll have enough when I say I have enough!"

"Considering you're Master Tigress, I don't think you should get yourself drunk in public."

She unexpectedly grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him for another tongue twisting kiss. Then she pulled him apart and whispered, "I'm not drunk… I'm just really turned on!"

"Then perhaps we should fix that problem!" There was a glint in her eyes that told the panther exactly what she was referring to and once it sank in his eyes widened and then a somewhat faint and yet loud enough metallic _'dink'_ sound was heard.

"What was that? It sounded like it came from beneath the table..."

"I didn't hear anything!" He gave a quick look down at his codpiece and blushed even harder as he gave her a cheeky, toothy smile. That is when she realized what the cause of the sound was and blushed and covered her mouth as he tried hard to hide his embarrassed expression.

However, that did not ruin the mood between them as she took his hand in hers and smiled which made Alvar the same and gestured the tiger with a quick movement of his head to follow him.

They stood up, held hands and quickly exited the bar leaving no time for anyone to stop them or listen to them.

Viper was just as surprised by what just happened, "I wasn't expecting Tigress to come out of her shell this much but way to go, girl!"

What about Arc and Naki, how were things going between them?

The snow leopard peeked at the two teenagers and noticed that they seem to be having a good time together, both eating from the same bowl full of chopped pieces of different kinds of fruit. They were having a nice date after all and Arc wasn't even doing anything out of normalcy so the date might not get ruined afterwards.

"Do you remember when we were younger and decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?"

Naki remembered that day pretty well, "I sure do. I remember how you got to carry me most of the way because I got tired and then you carried me all the way down… sorry about that!"

"It's okay, I didn't mind one bit." He flexed his arms a bit, feeling proud of what he did that day, "How are the rest of your brothers and your little sister?"

"They're fine, most of them are with father probably having fun in the yearly family vacation and my little sister obviously spends most of her time with mother. Last week she was wearing one mother's high heels and was trying to walk in them."

"How can anyone walk in those things?" Arc joked.

"Beats me, I tried on a pair once and it was near impossible to take a single step! That's why I stay with flat bottom sandals or just go barefooted."

"Like me!" The male exclaimed.

"Yes, like you!" She agreed.

It was going better than what Tai Lung expected. Arc and Naki were meant for each other and if he of all people could see that then surely this was a match made in Heaven.

Many time the female cat tried to place a piece of fruit in her mouth but fell off her chopsticks. Arc noticed it and eyed her curiously.

"Sorry, I'm still getting used to chopsticks." She said apologetically.

"It's alright, everyone has a hard time first but practice makes perfect!" He said and stood next to her, "Here, let me help you."

He reached for her hand with both of his and showed her how to correctly place the chopsticks, "Pick one with your middle finger and your thumb, then grip the second chopstick with your index finger and, finally, pick up whatever you want to eat."

And it hit him. He was touching her hands. He was holding her tender hands and he didn't notice it till now.

He was blushing so much that he let go of her to make the red go down a bit.

Naki thanked the lion but he was still in deep thought of the fact he was holding her hands.

Tai Lung chuckled at the lion's awkwardness. This was the person that was going to help him with his plans, the one who was going to help him seek the Patient one and who could actually help him get his revenge against Shifu and everyone who had hurt him badly.

"And I wouldn't want anyone else!"

* * *

The sun was going to rise in just a few hours but it didn't matter to the lions as they and the snow leopard cub sneaked into their respective rooms in the Jade Palace. Viper had called it quits earlier than the kids and was sleeping soundlessly in her own room. The teenagers had the best time of their lives as they walked the hall as silently as they could, making sure not to wake up anyone, as Arc had one arm around Naki's waist and the female resting her head on the archeologist's shoulder. They stopped when they reached the female's room door.

"I had a great time tonight." Naki said quietly in order not to awake anybody.

"Same here." Arc whispered in agreement.

They stared intently at each other's eyes. Nakira's beautiful enchanting greenish brown eyes. Arc's mesmerizing and exotic golden eyes. They could spend the entirety of the night doing this, losing themselves in each other's eyes, but a certain red panda wasn't going to give them an easy time during training so a good night sleep was needed.

But Arc wasn't going to let this night end like this as he leaned his head closer to her and, to his delight, Naki was closing in to his face as well. He wondered how she tasted like, probably the best thing he'll ever taste. His lips met her cheek as her kiss was intended for his cheek.

Despite that it wasn't on his lips, Arc felt like he would melt. He had done it. The girl he liked was showing her affections to him. His eyes seemed like they would pop out of their sockets, his breath became hotter and his heartbeat was going so fast that it threaten to burst out of the lion's ribcage.

When she pulled away, Arc had a dreamy and lazy cast in his eyes with goofy grin plastered on his face as he placed his paw on his cheek, right where Naki had kissed him, and sighed heavily.

"Good night, Arc!"

"Good night, Naki!" He said it with the same expression on his face.

Tai Lung who had watched the whole display grabbed the male lion's tail and pulled him, who was as stiff as a board, into their room and once inside he closed the door knowing that if they didn't get any shuteye, training would be hell for them.

The cub jumped into his bed while Arc was still standing stiffly right where the snow leopard had dragged him.

"Arc, aren't you going to sleep?"

The lion finally moved by turning around, the dreamy cast hadn't left his features, "I may never sleep again… not unless she's beside me!"

"Master Shifu is going to pulverize your ass tomorrow… actually, I think it already is tomorrow, so if I were you I would go to sleep this instant!"

Arc never changed his facial expression but he, nevertheless, 'floated' (that's how Tai Lung described it) on to his bed and laid there with his eyes open as he stared at the ceiling looking at whatever ran through his vision because whatever the lion was able to see Tai Lung knew that it was better not knowing the things that ran through the teenager's mind.

"Good night, Arc!"

"Good night, Naki!" Arc's voice sounded silly.

Tai Lung chuckled at the lion's pure goofiness. "Good night, _Arc_!

He waited the lion's response, "Good night…" Arc wasn't able to finish the statement because at that moment he fell asleep.

The snow leopard just smiled and whispered, "Thank you for the wonderful time tonight!"

He could hear the lion mutter in his sleep words and phrases like: 'me like Naki', and other things Tai Lung presumed to be from the other feline's past, such as: 'let's take over the ship!', 'the land belongs to the natives!' and 'my spidey senses are tingling!'. The four year old wished he knew what the bigger cat was muttering about in his sleep, maybe one day Arc will tell him of all of his tales and adventures and then all of those strange phrases might make sense.

Fluffing his pillow and then resting his head as he tried to catch some sleep before the sun comes up, Tai Lung was actually complacent and happy knowing that tomorrow Arc would be there and they could both spend more time together. Then he heard the lion once again stir and mutter words in his sleep. He turned his attention to his friend and waited for whatever the crazy cat would blurt out and what came out of the archeologist's mouth made Tai Lung want to regret listening to lion's muttering.

"He… is waiting for you…"

Every time he starts to feel comfortable around him Arc does something like that but he wasn't going to drop it like last time. Does Arc know more of the Patient One than he lets on? Has he been lying to the cub? Did he knew his secret and was just toying with him? Tai Lung pounced on the sleeping lion, which made him wake up, and pinned him to the bed.

"What's going on? Is something wrong, Snow Cub?"

"Yes, something _is_ very wrong…" The cub unsheathed his claws right in front of the lion's face, despite them being small they were still rather sharp, and threatened the archeologist, "and if you ever wish to raise a family with Naki you will answer a few questions!"

"Tai, are you okay?" There was confusion in his eyes as well as a tiny bit of fear.

"Just answer the following questions!" Tai Lung responded showing no sign of emotion.

The lion gulped and looked rather worried and scared. What had gotten into Tai?

"First question," He waited for everything to sink in until finally he asked the question he'd been dying to ask for a while now, but, mostly, he wanted to get off his chest.

"Do you know who I _really_ am?"

* * *

She knew she had to get to bed soon but needed to climb all of those thousand steps in order to get to the bedroom Master Shifu had allowed her to stay for the time being. After tasting the nice goose's soup all she wanted was to collapse on a warm bed or maybe talk to someone about how she felt about the soup itself. Right after sampling every aspect of the Mr. Ping's signature dish, Frankie was actually disappointed by the soup that she didn't want to reveal to the nice man such terrible news so she sprung out of there yelling that she was late for a very important date.

Mr. Ping was left behind in his home wanting to know her opinion of his food but was still happy to know that such a famous chef like the rabbit herself was at his restaurant and sampled his food and now all he needed was to wait for her to tell him. But with how late it had gotten he figured she would tell him another day.

Now the rabbit was walking down the streets hoping something good popped in the scene to lift her mood. How she longed for a conversation with someone she knew?

"Frankie, what are you doing up this late?"

That voice! Could he really be here? She turned her head to where the voice came from and it really was him, drinking tea outside a nightclub.

"Lan Se?" She couldn't help but smile, "I thought you had left the valley after you delivered that darn message!"

He took a sip from his cup and answered, "I did, but I wasn't aware that the Thread of Hope was destroyed again and when I got there one of the valley's guards told to take the long way out, he also told me that some builders from outside the valley were already fixing the bridge but I wasn't going to wait for them to finish. Yes, there is another way to enter and exit the Valley of Peace, with the exception of the entrance to The Underground, and it's through a series of mountains. I took that path, which not many people take because of how dangerous it is, or so that's what the guard told me, and I made it to the other side but that is where I found a box lying on the ground and inside it had a note from my employer and my what he owed me for my trouble…" he pause and whispered, "man, he creeps me out!"

"Who was your employer?" Frankie was really curious about that.

The cheetah eyed her seriously, "Someone you do not want to get involved with and trust me on this, it's safer not knowing he's around."

Although she was curious to know just who was this dangerous person she wanted to know something else, mostly because she wanted to know if she was the reason for it, "And why did you turned back into the Valley of Peace then?"

"I was getting to that! I was going to return to my home but that is when I saw who were fixing the bridge and decided to turn back and stay here a little longer. Just relax for a little bit, you know, and get to spend more time here with you and keep an eye on Arc in case he does anything like in that royal wedding party. Have you heard of that?"

Frankie couldn't help but blush knowing that the cheetah wanted to spend time with her but was also remembering the news of the catastrophic wedding thanks to the archeologist but, nevertheless, her mind was fixed on something else so she asked, "Who were fixing the bridge?"

Lan Se smiled like if he knew a secret, "They should be finishing the bridge any moment now. So they should arrive tomorrow."

"Who are?"

The cheetah smirked, "The Workshop, that's who!"

* * *

A/N: Well I hope this was worth the wait. Seriously, I hope I didn't offend anyone with anything in this chapter and if I did let me know and I'll see what I can do. Love is in the air. Tell me what you think about this new pairing between Tigress and Alvar and Arc's love life.

For those of you who don't know, Mount Kilimanjaro exists, I did not make that up and it's located in Africa. Arc saying in his sleep 'my spidey senses are tingling!' is a famous phrase from a certain spider themed comic book superhero which I will mention just to evade a lawsuit: it's Spiderman. When Frankie said that she was late for a very important date is based upon the white rabbit of Alice in Wonderland.

Next update might take a while because of my booked schedule but don't lose hope I'll try to finish it as fast as possible. It seems that Tai Lung might expose his secret to Arc but to find out you have to wait for the next chapter.

Please, read and review.


	14. Just Between Us

Those of you who have been reading "_The Seven Great Warriors_" by Leopard The Warrior of Africa then you must know that I gave her my permission to use elements from my story and that her fic isn't related to mine so the content in her story has nothing to do with mine. On to the continuation of my story: Arc and Tai's conversation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda, it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 14: Just Between Us

* * *

Arc stared directly into the two blazing eyes of the snow leopard pinning him to his bed as he only laid there in utter confusion. Why was Tai upset with him?

"Tai, what has gotten into you?"

"Answer me!" He said through gritted teeth, "You know who I really am and you've just been playing me for a fool, haven't you?"

Then they heard the door sliding open and a voice came from the doorway.

"Is everything alright?"

The snow leopard looked at the doorway and saw Naki standing there looking concerned. He then turned back to see Arc and the lion's expression made him feel something inside. Guilt.

The cub quickly released the lion. He stared intently at the other cat's eyes regretting the way he reacted. What am I doing?

Tai Lung backed away from the archeologist not being able to look at him in the eyes as he scratched the back of his head, "Uh, sorry about that."

Arc ignored the cub's apology and placed his attention to his crush, "Everything's alright, Naki, don't you worry!" He reassured her with a smile, which made the female nod and close the door and head back to her dormitory.

Tai Lung noticed the way she looked at the male lion and tried to flatter him, "You saw the way she was looking at you before she left?"

The lion didn't meet the cub's eyes but when he did Tai Lung saw something he never thought he would ever see in the lion's expression: anger with a cold glare.

That made Tai Lung back away a bit from Arc.

"Um, you okay?" Tai Lung asked lamely.

Arc's glare stayed on his face as he answered the question, "You just threatened to castrate me and leave me loveless!"

_Loveless?_

The cub kept his cool as he tried to calm the lion, "Why did it frighten you so much when I threatened to castrate you, besides the most logical reason? And I wasn't going to do it; I just wanted to get you to answer my question."

Then a thought hit Tai Lung and he dumbfounded about it but he had to ask it in order to well aware of certain things.

"Are you already thinking of having kids with Naki and you can barely talk to her without melting into a puddle?"

Arc, without hesitation, answered, "Of course I want to have children someday in the future with the person I love the most in the world because if we really love each other than our love will show off in the form of our offspring: the union of the love that the lovers share becomes concrete with their child… or children."

Tai Lung was taken back by the lion's wise tone, "That was deep. No wonder it bothered you so much but I can't believe that at such a young age you're already thinking of becoming a father!"

Arc gave a little nod, "Hey, if dogs can bare the children of cats now a days, I don't see a problem if two people love each other, that's their choice."

To that the snow leopard raised an eyebrow, "Cats can't impregnate dogs, maybe a tiger to a lion because they still are felines but not a cat and a dog."

Arc just stared into space for a second or so and sighed, "I guess it only applies to The Underground because of a specific body enhancement potion."

"What do you mean?" Tai Lung asked with curiosity. The topic about the potions brought a huge interest to him.

After hearing the cub's curious question, the lion smirked, and decided to tell the boy about everything he needed to know, "That's a sign for 'I have no idea of what he's talking about' so I'll just explain it as much as I can!"

Arc cleared his throat and began explaining, "When a mommy and daddy love each other very much they-"

"I already know that!" Tai Lung interrupted him but Arc held up a finger and continued talking.

"Please, don't interrupt me, besides I won't be explaining you _that_. Now, where was I? Ah right, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much they make a baby and by doing so they pass on their genes, which is located in their deoxyribonucleic acid ― some dummies call it 'DNA' but it is actually called deoxyribonucleic acid, it's easy to say!"

_Deeo, deoxee, deox-oro-bone-e-clay-eek… no it's not! _Tai Lung thought defensively.

Arc continued, "And because of those genes, that the parents possess, being passed onto the child is why children look so much alike to their parents and maybe even their relatives because they share some of the same genes."

"Are you getting somewhere with this?" Again, Tai Lung interrupted, but, nevertheless, the lion continued where he left off.

"In The Underground, scientists have discovered all of that thanks to the advanced technology, someday some douchebag scientist will reveal the secret to the surface and thus becoming exiled from The Underground itself for using its knowledge for the outside world. Thanks to the scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that potion makers were able to come up with many successful concoctions. And one of the best of those brews is the Body Enhancement Potion better known as _Amare_: the elixir that can change the order of your deoxyribonucleic acid information and making your body as well as the bodies of others into believing it. You know when daddy leaves his essence in mommy the body recognizes it as the same species as hers and allows a perfect fertilization of the egg. In other words, if you're a dog and you want to bare the children of a cat, all you need is to ask an experienced potion maker into making you potion _Amare_ with the specific animal traits you want your genes to rearrange themselves into.

That was just astounding to hear according to Tai Lung. A potion that was able to change your body entirely… right? "So you become into another species of animal?"

Arc nodded and answered him, "In a matter of speaking, you temporarily do but your physical form stays the same; the genes in the deoxyribonucleic acid become the same as the animal of choice so both lovers are able to make a baby and show the world what their love created."

Tai Lung would never had thought of that in that way before, especially since his experience with making love were far from making 'love' especially with the awful memories that came afterwards. Something bothered Tai Lung because Arc had said that he would tell him everything he needed to know but thinking about it made him come up of a question that he wondered why hadn't he asked it before.

"Why is it so important to keep The Underground a secret?"

Arc was quiet, thinking of the correct words to use because the answer to that question needed to be as understandable as possible. The sound of crickets filled the room until Arc spoke again.

"There are bad people in this world Tai… people who do horrible things. And those people tend to hurt others just because they're different."

Where was Arc going with it?

"There are people in the surface that know about The Underground but instead of using the hidden world for good they intend to use it for their selfish desires and sometimes they just want to make sure that there is nothing that will stand in their way to become more powerful."

In that moment Arc looked at the cub with a serious expression, and it wasn't his usual blank one, his face showed something that impressed Tai Lung and made him dread of whatever could cause the lion to lose his joyous demeanor.

"Believe it or not, there is a war happening right now as we speak."

"Where?" Tai Lung knew there were wars most of the time in China and other countries but never one about The Underground against the surface world.

"Anywhere in the world." Arc simply answered.

_What did he meant by that?_

Before he could ask anything else, the lion kept informing the boy, "There are people who are afraid of what is different and so they try to get rid of it… no matter the cost."

"Who are those people?" Tai Lung asked and Arc answered with a slow tone.

"They are people who live in the surface who believe The Underground and its inhabitants are dangerous and so they seek the destruction of everything that has to do with The Underground, you may call them _Abettors_, at least, that's what the 'Undergrounders' call them. They say it is because they fear of what might happen if the inhabitants invaded the surface but it is clear that they just wish to take over the power that they don't own which is the case for every other war that I've known of. This war has lasted centuries with no sign of stopping."

And yet he never knew about it and maybe nobody in the Valley of Peace, "How come I've never heard of this war and why isn't anyone doing anything to stop it?"

"Because it has been kept secret, at least, that's what the people from The Underground try to maintain." The lion let that sink in before he continued.

"That's why those who reveal anything from The Underground are banned from ever going in it ever again and those who discover the hidden world must sworn secrecy for the good of The Underground and themselves. If you think being banned from The Underground was bad, you should see what the people who seek to destroy it do to them." Arc made a face of disgust, he obviously knew what happened to those people, "That's what happens when you talk too much and you don't have anywhere safe to run to for protection and The Underground was the only safe place they could run to but the consequences of their actions got to them."

Tai Lung tried to take everything in but he asked himself the reason for Arc wanting him to know all of this. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Wasn't I the one withholding the truth from you? Well, there you go! " The snapped placing his fists on his hips, "Why am I telling you about the secret war? Because whether you like it or not… you're part of this war now, as am I, Zoi, Tia Ra and anybody else who knows about The Underground!"

He let all of that sink in for a few seconds and after that he grabbed the cub and placed him on his bed. Tai Lung just watched Arc walk back to his own bed and cover his body with a blanket.

"You should go to sleep… now!" And with that Arc rested his head on his pillow and faced the wall, making sure the only thing the cub could see of him was his back.

Surprisingly, the lion's reaction hurt Tai Lung. A lot. He pretty much just ruined his friendship with his first and only friend.

"Arc?" Tai Lung wanted to see if he could fix what he had broken.

"Just stop and go to sleep already." Arc's words were cold.

"Arc, please, I'm sorry." The snow leopard tried futilely again and it made Arc jump up, meet the smaller cat's eyes and snapped, "I don't know what your problem is? One moment you're friendly and then you're this unapproachable little monster who scares off others… so congratulation, I won't get in your way anymore!" And with that the lion turned his back again.

That actually hurt him even more. To hear such a friendly and happy person tell such harsh things to him made him want to cry. In fact, his eyes were starting to tear up, and it wasn't because he was a child, these tears were real. He exited the room and went outside wanting to find something to ease the sudden pain he was feeling. He had felt this before when Shifu didn't stood up on his behalf twenty years ago and now it hurt just as badly.

The snow leopard ended up in the Hall of Warriors, seeing that it was still under repair after his fight with Shifu. When he was young he meditated to make himself feel better so why not now?

Most everything in there was already fixed and properly placed back into their respectful places, even Oogway's stick was back in its pedestal and to his surprise it was fixed as well.

He wasn't here to look at the artifacts; he was here to center himself. So he sat in front of the Moon Pool, closed his eyes and started breathing calmly.

After a minute or so he opened his eyes and stared at the calm water of the Moon Pool and saw the peach petals floating on it. Petals… Flowers…

The memories of those children in a flower meadow that seemed to haunt him appeared once again in his head as he noticed that one of those children in particular was grown up, he knew who that was, especially as soon as Tai Lung noticed that his right arm was missing. Then a woman walked in in the picture in that precise moment. She was a gorgeous feline with markings along her brownish gold body; she was a strange specimen of a cat. She embraced the small children in a hug and looked up at Tai Lung and said, "You made a promise to us once… have you forgotten about it?"

He snapped out of the vision after she spoke but it was because someone shook him by the shoulder.

Tai Lung looked behind to see who it was and it was none other than Master Shifu.

The cub snorted disdainfully, "Well look who it is: the midget!"

Despite the boys bad attitude, Shifu waved it off as he saw tears welling up in the boys eyes, "Xue Zai, what are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep." He responded not meeting the red panda's eyes.

"Did you had a bad dream?" Now Shifu sounded concerned.

Tai Lung finally looked at him in the eyes and answered him casually, "Every time I close my eyes I see nightmares, but no." He paused, "I made Arc angry and now he doesn't want anything to do with me."

That reminded him of what happened twenty years ago, when he gave in to his anger and long story short, Shifu got angry at him and turned him away.

The red panda was a bit horrified by the boy's words but he remained calm and tried to see if he could solve the problem, "Now what makes you think he doesn't want anything to do with you? Just because you had an argument doesn't mean he will put you aside and ignore your existence."

"What do you know? You're exactly like that!" He snapped.

Shifu was shocked to hear the boy say such a thing about him.

"I can honestly tell you that I am nothing of what you just described me."

The cub looked at him in a dark manner and said grimly, "I know what you did to Tai Lung."

Shifu's ears pricked up at hearing his former student's name, but before he could argue Zai continued with the accusations.

"I know, I know how you used him, I know how you never cared about him, I know that you only took him in so he could be a kung fu prodigy, scratch that, you took him in so you could turn him into what you wanted and when that failed… you threw him away like he didn't matter and you didn't care if he was even alive, hell you wanted him to die, so you wouldn't have to live with the shame that that failure was your son, then you replaced him with other students and you did all of that just so you could look better in the eyes of your master, a senile old fuck who is now dead!"

Preparing himself to deflect whatever the red panda was going to throw at him and then kill him and burn down the whole Hall of Heroes, Tai Lung was not ready for what came.

The red panda embraced the cub. "I know why you act this way around others. You have been hurt badly before by someone you cared and now you hurt every waking second of your existence and in doing so you make sure that others don't come close to you." This kind of treatment was something he had never used before but maybe this was what was needed after all everything he had tried with his children seemed to fail so why not a new tactic.

Tai Lung pushed him away, tears stinging his eyes, "You don't know anything about me!"

Shifu saw this coming and decided to go with his plan B and sat right next to the cub, "Then perhaps… we should have a talk. Just you and me. Father and son."

Tai Lung eyed the red panda carefully and sat next to him a well. They were both silent until the snow leopard asked his father a question.

"Why did you adopt me?"

Shifu looked at the cub with a startled expression but he didn't answer it because Xue Zai beat him to it.

"Is it because you're trying to fill the void inside of you after losing one… again?" Shifu was going to retort to that but the cub didn't allow him, "Or is it that you felt pity for me because I seemed to have no purpose upon this world so you tried to take over my life and turn it into what you wanted, what you want me to be?"

Shifu looked at his ward with no sign of emotion on his face. Then he sighed, "Xue Zai, I have put up with your attitude so far because I thought the last thing you needed was a punishment but now I can see that is exactly what you need, a form to see the error of your behavior."

"What are you going to do?" The cub said with such a cocky bravado that the red panda thought he was looking at Tai Lung for a second there but he wasn't going to let the boy get away with his misbehavior so he stood up and grabbed the cub by the wrist.

Big mistake on his part.

* * *

Naki was still awake while she tried to eavesdrop on the two male felines' conversation until she heard light footsteps walk down the hall and exit the barracks. She wanted to see if Arc and Tai were okay and decided to investigate.

She opened the door to their room and saw that the cub was not in there but Arc was curled up in his bed gripping his blanket hard but there was movement beneath.

She approached the seemingly sleeping lion and gently nudge him, "Arc, are you awake?"

The lion turned his head and noticed the female besides him and blushed, "Naki!" He desperately tried to hide the fact that he was just thinking about her to ignore what had just occurred moments ago.

"Where's Tai?"Naki asked sounding worried. She had heard a few of the things the two boys had said earlier.

"I don't know, outside I guess."

"Aren't you going to check on him?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe this time he needs to figure things out by himself." Arc said not meeting her eyes.

"What happened? Did you have an argument?"

The male nodded and sighed, "I… I lost my temper and I think I might have said a few things that hurt him."

She sat in the bed next to the male, "That's… so unlike you." The way she said and the way she looked at him was as if Arc had grown a second head.

He was silent for a moment, "I know." He hung his head and stared at the floor, "It's just that I'm trying so hard to make him brake out of his shell and every time I think I've done it he…" He groaned and dropped his head on his pillow, "I give up."

Naki wasn't going to let him give up so easily, after all, that was one of the things she found about the lion so attractive, "That's not the Arc I know. The Arc I know fully well would never surrender so easily, even when things get from bad to worse you never reacted this way before."

He looked at her and instantly jumped to his feet, on the bed of course, "You're right… I need to apologize to him. After all, he's just a little boy who's been abused by others." He sat down beside the female and breathed in the night air.

Naki placed her hand on his and that gesture made the male flinch a little and stare at the female intently for what seemed to be minutes. He leaned closer to her and she did the same, both of them closed their eyes, this time he was going to get a kiss on the lips.

But instead their foreheads bumped against each other.

"Ow!" Both of them said as they rubbed their foreheads and giggled from embarrassment and then they cleared their throats.

After that awkward little moment they just stared deeply in each other's eyes holding the other one's hands in theirs. There was no question about it now. Both of them knew how they felt for one another.

* * *

The rays of the sun could be seen just little from the valley streets as it began to rise over a mountain over the horizon blocking its view.

And two certain people were walking towards the Jade Palace after a long sleepless night.

"So you're not going to sleep?" Lan Se asked Frankie, who responded.

"What's the point? The sun is going to rise any moment now." _And why would I want to spend time away from you?_

"Again, what was it that you didn't like about Mr. Ping's Secret Ingredient Soup? I've been to this valley many times and I've sampled the goose's soup many times, it's delicious."

The rabbit looked sad for some reason and answered, "When I tasted it, there wasn't anything special about it. There wasn't anything in the dish that made it stand out; it was just noodles in water flavored by an ordinary bouillon cube, nothing more."

"But why are you so down about it?" The cheetah couldn't help but show concern for her.

Frankie sighed, "People say that it's the best bowl of soup they have ever tasted but I couldn't find what was so special. I wasn't able to detect anything in the broth as I tasted it… I think I may be losing my culinary touch."

"Frankie, I hardly believe that you are losing your skills, but I am worried about the way you've been acting lately, really differently."

_Crap, he noticed the way I've been staring at him!_ "I don't know what you are talking about?"

"Frankie," He eyed her with a smirk, "I think I know what's going on."

Maybe he didn't know about what she felt, maybe he was just concerned for her.

"You're in love." He said.

She blushed so hard that she started to hesitate, "No, no, that's not it at all! You're way off the mark, Lan Se!"

"No I'm not, I can tell, I was once a horny teenager too!"

"I'm in my twenties now." She fought back with the blush still on her face.

"I know but you look as young as any adolescent girl." He explained and then continued, "Like I was saying, I once went through a phase like this and I think I may be able to help you."

"Uh, r-really?" _Maybe he had no idea after all._

"That's right, but before I help you out you need to tell me who you are crushing on."

"Uh," This was a good chance to declare her love for him but she still didn't feel strong or brave enough, so she tried to change the subject in order to stop the questions, "I'll tell you if you tell me the name of your most recent employer!"

"You know I won't reveal my customers identities."

Frankie crossed her arms, "Then I guess you won't know my secret." She said it so smugly that she could tell she was victorious.

"It's Pierre, isn't it?"

She blushed at hearing the cheetah accuse her of having a crush on her assistant chef.

Lan Se noticed how silent, and stubborn, she was being so he sighed in defeat, "Fine, I'll drop the subject but when you feel that you have the guts to tell me just who it is that you like, only then will I help you with your circumstances."

"Fair enough!" Frankie said relieved to know that her secret was safe for now.

"Where is it that you're staying at?" The cheetah asked.

"The Jade Palace. Master Shifu allowed me to stay in one of the spare rooms for the time being."

"Do you think you can ask him if I could crash there for a while?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Can't you do it yourself?"

He scratched the back of his neck uneasily, "I could but it would seem very disrespectful if I, someone who never asks anything in return besides my payment, to ask for such a thing, especially from Master Shifu."

She thought about this for a few seconds and she smiled at the idea that came afterwards, "Well, I guess I can always ask nicely and offer him one of my to-die-for desserts."

The deliveryman picked her up and hugged her, "Thank you!"

She couldn't help but snuggle against his chest and blush, of course, and she didn't want him to let her go.

"It's so chilly you better keep in your warm embrace until we reach the top of the mountain."

Lan Se looked at her questioningly in a playful manner, "With the amounts of traveling that you do I would believe that you are tough enough to resist cold weather?"

Frankie looked at him in the eyes and smirked, "Don't dis the strength of a cute little rabbit. Need I remind you of Monty Python?"

Both of them shared a laugh.

As the cheetah walked up the steps to the Jade Palace the sun started to rise and shine across the land.

"I wonder what Arc and Tai did tonight?" Lan Se asked to himself out loud but Frankie answered him.

"They are good boys. I'm sure they must be sound asleep in their respective beds after a night of slumber and happy dreams."

* * *

The sun had finally risen enough for anyone to tell that it was morning and that they needed to do their daily errands. The gong would sound at any moment to indicate those who aren't aware of it yet that a new day had commenced.

In the barracks of the Jade Palace you could only hear snores coming from the rooms as well as Po talking in his sleep about his outrages kung fu dreams.

It was quiet in Arc's room as he rested on his bed curled against the girl of his dreams as he pressed her back against his chest with a dreamy smile on his face and he assumed that she had one as well. He breathed in her scent as he caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Hey, you awake?" He whispered to the lioness.

She turned around to look at his face answering his question. Naki was blushing and Arc couldn't help but do the same.

He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled at her neck sending chills down her body.

Both of them were enjoying each other's company, after all their relationship had taken a big step a few minutes ago. After they had bumped against the other one's head they just continued doing what they both wanted and craved so badly.

They kissed on the lips. It was the most amazing thing either of them ever felt. Naki felt that she would melt as she tasted and took in the male's flavor. Arc felt an electrifying force was sent through all of his body letting him reach a conclusion.

_If this is how a kiss feels then I can't wait to make love to her!_

When they had pulled apart both of them were panting heavily but after a few second of regaining control of their breathing, Naki pounced on Arc, pinning him against the bed as she stared at his handsome physique.

He was doing the same from his perspective.

Despite the situation and what it seemed that they were going to do, they just cuddle and caressed each other for a while until they laid in bed resting and enjoying the moment.

And now they were both wanting to make it last longer but how would they be able to do that since any moment now they would have to attend their kung fu training as soon as the gong rings.

Nevertheless, they stayed in each other's loving embrace, enjoying the warmth they gave off and just laid there until their time together ran out and had to continue with their lives but this time they would be sharing something more, and that was a loving relationship between them.

Arc nuzzled the female's neck, sending chills down her spine, and then he gave her a tender nibble on that area, which made her moan in delight. It was clear that he wanted to tell her something through that love bite and that was what they both have been yearning to tell the other for a while.

"I love you."

In Tigress' room there was nothing more than warmth as she cuddled in bed… right on top of the panther she met a few hours ago. She was resting her head on his muscular chest and slowly she was regaining consciousness as she opened her eyes and noticed the naked panther she was sleeping on.

Alvar was awake as he stared at his ladylove while he caressed the top of her head by running his finger on her fur.

"It's about time you woke up; I've been craving for breakfast for a while now. What do you want to eat? My treat!"

Tigress didn't have time for him, hell, she didn't expect to be seduced by him of all people. The panther may have been able to break her walls after a few drinks but now it was time to return to being the stoic kung fu master that she is, "I have kung fu training to do but thanks."

"Wait, kung fu for breakfast? That's not healthy... is it?"

Tigress got up from the bed, and him, and started putting on her clothes, "We eat after a quick work out." She said, her back facing him

The panther took that as a hint that she wanted to spend more time with him, "Oh, then maybe you would like to accompany me to get some breakfast?"

"I think I'll pass." The striped feline pressed on.

He wasn't going to give up so easy. A woman as special as Tigress was difficult to find, "Aww," he groaned in disappointment, but did not give up, "well, what are you planning to do tonight?"

The striped feline huffed and placed her fist on her hips, but she kept the tone of her voice even, "Let's get this straight: this was just a one night thing; it doesn't mean anything."

Alvar held up a finger to say something but before even a peep escaped his mouth the gong rang.

_Crap!_ Tigress thought to herself. She wasn't even fully dressed and she heard the doors of other rooms opening and her colleagues greeting their master, though she could have sworn some people were missing.

Outside in the hallway Master Shifu was shocked to see some of his students missing, especially Tigress of all people.

"Master Tigress, are you awake?" He called out to her.

Shifu walked to the door of her room and before he asked again or opened it, the door swung open revealing a nude panther holding a metal codpiece in his grasp.

"She's still getting dressed but don't worry, after a night of hot sex she'll be ready to show you what she's made of!" This came from the nude Alvar as he stretched himself and moaned a yawn.

Everything was silent, too silent that you could actually hear people down in the valley's conversation. Shifu was staring up to the muscular and naked panther who stood right in front of the red panda like if it was normal to walk around in the nude, pretty much like Arc. While his jaw was left hanging open and his eye started twitching violently, the dark feline gestured everyone who was staring that he was leaving and he walked out but in doing so he walked over Master Shifu, not trampling him, spreading his legs so as not to step on the small man, and the red panda regretted that he was still staring up as he tried to regain his composure but that only lead to a close up of the last thing he wanted to see in a different perspective.

"Okaaayy, what is going on?" This came from Crane.

"Don't mind him." Tigress said as she exited her room fully dressed.

Crane asked again, "Um, Tigress, who was that?"

Tigress huffed and snapped rather impatiently, "I said don't mind him. Now let's drop the topic and begin training at once."

Jagter's expression stayed still and proper despite the situation which just occurred but he raised an eyebrow when he noticed that Arc, Tai and Naki hadn't come out of their rooms.

In that precise moment the door to Arc's room opened and the new couple of teenagers walked out holding hands and giggling.

As soon as Jagter saw the two of them walk out he instantly knew what had happened. So he strode forward, took his sister by the wrist and gently pulled her aside.

"Naki, did you and Arc…" He trailed off not being able to pronounce it.

"…kissed?" Naki finished with a blush as she bounced in excitement in a girly manner on the balls of her feet.

"No, I mean, did you and him, you know, did it?"

"Oh, no!" She wanted Arc so badly but things like that could wait and she had a feeling so did her newly official boyfriend.

Jagter then looked at the other male lion who had a dreamy gaze on his face, probably thinking of his sister, and walked towards him, "You and I need to talk."

"What did I do?" Arc said in utter confusion.

Jagter pulled him into his room, "Alright, let's get this straight, I know you care about my sister, I've noticed it since I met you years ago, but I don't want you harming anyone in my family nor do I want my family's name to be tarnished." He said it as politely and well-mannered like the young gentleman that he was and he did not say it with anger or showed signs that he wanted the other male to keep away from Naki.

However, Arc understood something else and that was that his girlfriend's brother did not accept him, "I would never hurt Naki in any way!" He retorted defensively.

Jagter nodded and continued speaking with his usual calm fashion, "Then take this relationship slowly, don't rush things or someone, eventually, will get hurt."

"I don't want that to happen." Arc said saddened to hear Naki's sibling think that he would bring harm to him, to his sister and the rest of his family.

Jagter smiled knowing that he got his message clear, "Then we're on the same page."

"You don't think I'm good enough for her, don't you?" Arc said in a whisper but Jagter being in such close proximity heard it clearly.

"Arc, it's not that. I just don't want the both of you to rush anything. Understand?"

Arc nodded.

"Good." And with that he left Arc to himself and exited the room.

Despite what Jagter said, Arc saw through his words and it was what he feared the most: her family didn't think he was good enough for her.

Naki saw her brother exit his room but not Arc. "What did you do to him?" There was a worried tone in her voice.

"I had a word with him." He answered.

She knew what that was code for.

"You beat him up?" She sounded more worried this time.

"No."

Arc walked out of Jagter's room looking a bit gloom and it showed by his downcast ears. He didn't even bat an eye when Naki gestured him to be by her side as he walked out of the barracks not even noticing the rest of the kung fu warriors trying to snap their master from his paralyzed/shocked state.

Crane was actually slapping the red panda to snap him out of the traumatizing state he was, "Come on, Master, it wasn't _that_ big!"

"Yeah it was!" Viper chimed.

Naki didn't know what happened earlier so she strode forward and pointed at Shifu, "What happened to him?"

Mantis happily told her what happened as he tried to hold down the laughter, "He just had a huge black-furred cock hover over him, that's all!"

* * *

Arc's mindless walk led him to the Hall of Warriors, he didn't notice the snow leopard cub sitting in front of the Moon Pool, not even when he sat down next to him with slumped shoulders and a downcast face.

Tai Lung didn't shift his attention to the lion he just kept staring at the petals floating on the water, besides he was still gloomy about what happened earlier and he did feel guilty for, in a way, hurting Arc.

"So," He had no idea what to say but the lion, who had been staring blankly into space, turned his attention to the cub, finally noticing him, at least that's what his reaction was with his sudden surprised expression. Nevertheless, Tai Lung tried to make a conversation, "Did you catch some sleep?"

The lion didn't respond he just looked at the boy with big sad eyes that made Tai Lung feel bad.

The cub sighed deeply, "Listen, Arc, I'm sorry if what I said and did hurt you. I don't want you to be mad at me for it so, again, I'm really sorry!"

Arc didn't respond, his face didn't showed any sign of sadness but it was his usual blank, clueless stare and the snow leopard didn't exactly knew what went through the bigger cat's mind whenever he had that face on, so this wasn't helping.

But slowly a smile formed on the lion's face which made the smaller cat smile in unison.

"So, you're no longer mad at me?"

"How could I stay mad at you?" Arc said while embracing the boy.

Hearing those words made Tai Lung's heart swell with joy even if Arc was crushing him with his armor covered arms. "I'm too happy to be sad."

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow, "Really? You were gloomy a few seconds ago."

Arc gave a smug look, "Well, after you left the room Naki went to check if we were alright and it led to- WE KISSED!" He finished it we so much energy and excitement.

Tai Lung just stared at the lion in surprise, but the lion's face said it all, he had actually been able to declare his affections in some kind of a way to his crush and she returned it with her own.

"And then we slept together!" The lion added.

The snow leopard's jaw hung open, surprised by Arc's words, "You kissed her and then you both decided to have sex just because you shared a kiss!"

"No, we kissed and then we cuddled against each other in my bed and took a quick snooze. See we slept together!"

"Oh Arc!" Tai Lung shook his head in bemusement.

"What are you doing sitting here?" Arc asked.

"I'm grounded." The cub responded in a groan.

"Oh, what did you do?"

Earlier that morning when Shifu had grabbed the cub by the wrist, Tai Lung reacted immediately and didn't hold back.

"I punched Shifu on the face." He said it like if it was no big deal.

And so he did after the red panda, after taking the boy's arm in his grasp, told the cub to go to his room and stay there till supper. Tai Lung reacted the best way he knew and socked the old master.

And yet Tai Lung felt guilty, Shifu just wanted to be a proper father. _He had his chance and he blew it big time!_ He also felt confusion about the whole thing, after a life time of loving no one else but the red panda the snow leopard had developed an unhealthy addiction for his master's attention and love. He realized in that moment that Shifu's words over twenty years ago finally made since, "you're just confused".

He sighed deeply closing his eyes as he tried to center himself. Tai Lung didn't find what he wanted because Arc continued the conversation.

"If you want to cause him harm you have to make sure there is no proof that it was you."

"Wait, have you been giving Shifu a hard time on purpose?"

"What do you mean?" Arc looked at him with that blank, clueless face.

Could Arc truly be that clueless, or is he really just like _that?_ "The way you behave around him." Tai Lung explained.

The lion placed a finger on his bottom lip and looked, pensive, in another direction.

He then faced the cub once again, "Well, I'll admit that I don't like him and I do not want to see him hurt you, he already has and in a very cruel way, so I'll do whatever I can to keep him away from you… and if he ever dares to lay a hand on you, just tell me and I'll dispose of him."

Tai Lung was shocked to hear such cold words leave the lion's mouth. He had never heard him speak ill of anyone specially promising to kill a person.

Arc then stood up and gestured eagerly to the cub to follow him, "Come on, you don't want to miss training do you?"

"Arc, I have something to ask you." Tai Lung said.

The lion stopped on his tracks and turned around, "Yes?"

Now was the time to tell the lion about his plan and how the archeologist was needed, "I've wanted to explore The Underground and find information about the Patient One but I need someone to help me get there and…" He trailed off on purpose just to see if Arc got the picture.

And he did, "Say no more because your tour guide says let's do it!"

"Great!"

However, Arc held up his index finger, "But before we go you need to learn a few things and I assure you they are important."

"Got it." Tai Lung nodded.

Arc smiled proudly at the boy, "But not now. Later. Now we have to greet Shifu." Saying that he gestured, again, the cub to follow him and Tai Lung did just that with no sign of disagreement.

They made their way to the training hall but no one was there so they went to the barracks and discovered that everyone was still there.

They were all gathered together, surrounding Shifu who was still in the same pose he was minutes earlier, still shocked from the view of the exposed panther.

"What happened to him?" Tai Lung asked looking at Shifu weirdly.

Viper was kind enough to fill the cub with the proper information, "He saw the panther from the bar flash his manhood right in his face."

* * *

As Alvar walked down the streets of the valley he couldn't stop telling his friend about how great everything went the other night with the beautiful tiger.

Xovius who was listening to him just rolled his eyes, "Have you been staring nonstop to me every time I bang a woman?"

"Sometimes I turn away." Alvar said cheekily and scratching the back of his neck, obviously, embarrassed of that fact.

Xovius just kept talking, "I can tell when a woman is interested and when she just wanted a good time and I can honestly tell you that she is not worth the time just look for another gal."

Alvar scuffed at his friend's words, "I don't want to look for another one. She's perfect. She's the one."

The deep voiced accented panther smirked, "But does she want to go another round with you?"

"I hope." Alvar couldn't hide his eagerness just to go out one more time with the tiger master, "I know she's interested in me and I'm going to savor every moment with her."

"Listen, just be careful, I don't want you to get your heart broken."

"I won't, I'm already thinking of where I'll be taking her to a date."

"Alvar, just bang a woman, enjoy and carry on with your life! It's that simple." Now Xovius showed frustration.

"Says you. Do you know what people have said about us in the past? That we spend so much time together they think we're couple."

Xovius gripped his fist and yelled out, "Pleasuring a man with a socked foot does not make me _gay_!"

Alvar looked scandalized and confused at the same time, "What? When did that happen?"

"That's not important." The, Xovius placed his paw on his right shoulder, "I just don't want you to think too much of the future with her because she is a woman of duty and she will always put that first above all… even you."

Despite his friend's sincere words, Alvar wasn't going to let a catch like Tigress get away. _We already had sex… what more indication do I need?_

* * *

Everyone was relieved to know that Shifu had canceled the day's training until he got the image of the naked panther out of his mind. After that he was planning to have a very serious and stern talk with Tigress on the issue.

What exactly did his students do last night? He was going to find out one way or another.

That is when Frankie walked in the Hall of Heroes and approached him, "Um, Master Shifu, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?"

The red panda huffed trying to shake his current thoughts away so as to answer the rabbit, "Yes, what is it, Miss Frankie French Fry?"

She inhaled and exhaled, "Lan Se is taking a break from his job and needs a place to stay and I was wondering if you could let him stay in one of the many free guest rooms for the time being?"

The old master looked at her briefly and closed his eyes afterwards, as if consulting some superior being's consultancy, then he opened them again, "Of course, he has been a loyal person to the Jade Palace and we owe him a lot."

Frankie wanted to jump around out of excitement, "Great, I'll tell him the wonderful news!"

She thanked the old master and exited the hall. She was so excited that Lan Se would be staying in the Jade Palace with her.

The cheetah was waiting for her right outside of the building, "So what did he say?"

She looked at him in the eyes and smiled, "He said yes… but because there are no available rooms you're going to have to share a room with someone."

That schemer!

Lan Se had no problem with that, "Sure, who?"

The rabbit wanted to smile but she stayed stoic, "Weeeell, I have enough space in my dormitory."

"Oh, you don't mind if I stay with you?"

"Of course not!" She blurted out.

"Great, then can you take me there? I would like to rest for a while."

"Sure!" This almost came out in a squeaky tone.

Everything was going well so far and Lan Se was going to stay longer in close proximity to her in a shared room. Frankie couldn't help but bounce excitedly at that fact but even more to the fact that she could one day walk in on him while he's undressed.

"Um, Frankie, is something wrong?" Lan Se noticed the way she was acting.

"Nope. Never better."

* * *

Meanwhile after Frankie had exited the Hall of Warriors, Zoi entered to inform Master Shifu of the discovery she made about the Zhi Peng's death.

When she appeared in his presence, of course, the red panda scowled; she was the last person he wanted to see, especially, in a morning.

"Shifu," She approached him without bowing or calling him by his honorary title, "there is something that you need to know and it is very important; it concerns the safety of-"

She was cut off by Shifu who raised his palm in order to speak, "I'm in no mood to listen to your babbling, Miss Zenigata. So I will ask you to please leave the premises of the Jade Palace and carry on with your life and I will let you know that _my_ son is alive and well, he seems to have a liking for Arc."

She glared at him but relaxed and waved it off. If he wasn't going to listen then let him suffer. "As long as Tai is well…" And she turned around and walked away.

He raised an eyebrow, "You mean Zai, of course?"

She stopped, turned her head around with a raised eyebrow, "No."

And with that she strode away.

What did she meant by the safety of whoever might be at risked? _Why did I cut her off before listening to the rest of the sentence?_

But what truly bothered him was the fact that she dared to call Xue Zai, his newly adopted son, Tai as in Tai Lung. She had the gall of calling his boy by the name of his fallen student as if he was going to make the same mistake again. He huffed trying to let the anger that had suddenly filled him disappear.

Then again, maybe she did had something important to say but he allowed his emotions to get in the way. Too late now, he knew that she wasn't going to help him in any way after his reaction and he hoped that whatever she wanted to tell him wasn't too important.

He sighed, closed his eyes and opened them, "Now who was that panther from this morning?"

* * *

"It has plenty of space for both of us, it's great!"

Frankie smiled hearing the cheetah say that, "Glad to know you'll be comfy!"

Inwardly she was cursing, wishing that she had been given a smaller bedchamber so she could snuggle closer to her feline crush during those cold rainy nights, if one of those coincidentally happens.

"It's a good thing I always carry a sleeping bag." He then pulled out the object from his messenger bag, "Now we won't have to share the bed!"

"Yeah, too bad!" She jokingly but inwardly she was cursing. _Damn it!_

He laughed loudly. She adored that laughter of his. It somehow turned her on even more than staring at him or imagining how he looked like with no clothes on.

Speaking of staring at his attractive form, Frankie couldn't help but gaze at the handsome cheetah's back as he placed his sleeping bag on the floor next to the wall opposite to her bed.

He stood up stretched his arms and back until he heard faint cracks, "Hey, Frankie, you don't mind if I change my uniform? I have been wearing this one for days now."

"Not at all." _Score!_

He started to take off his vest which made the rabbit blush hard. He stopped when he saw that she was still in the room.

"Um, Frankie, I don't think you got my meaning, do you? I meant, if you could be kind enough to leave the room in order for me to undress, be freely bare and dress up again without having someone staring at me."

"What makes you so sure I would stare at you?" _Crap, maybe he knows how I feel!_

"You tend to that a lot!" He responded.

"I, uh, I, um." She seriously had no idea what to say.

"Frankie, you don't have to hide your feelings anymore." He said as he looked at her intently.

_Could it be? Could he really feel the same way about her?_ "Really?" She was blushing now more than ever.

"Of course," there was a pause, "you're not the first woman to stare at me nonstop because of my looks!"

"Oh." Well, at least her secret was still safe. "Fine, I'll let you change clothes by yourself even though nudity doesn't bother me." She lied about the last part but she would say anything to get to see the feline of her dreams completely unclothed.

"Much appreciated." Said the cheetah starting to undo his belt.

When she was outside of the room all she did was desperately search for a peephole on the closed door.

_Damn it, naked man candy on the other side. I have needs!_

* * *

"Prove it." Tai Lung said to Arc.

"I will." The lion responded.

Arc approached Naki who was sitting having breakfast, grasped her by her shoulders and planted a lusty kiss on her lips.

Tai Lung stared at the display of affection feeling proud and happy for his friend for finally revealing his feelings for the girl he liked and now he didn't have to be so shy around her.

Then Jagter entered the room and Arc let go of Naki instantly and kept his distance from the female and the other male lion.

Tai Lung grabbed the archeologist by the sleeve and pulled him down to his level, "What's the deal, you won her heart and you puss out the second one of her family members are around?"

"You don't understand… I'm not exactly what her family intends her to be with, they want someone who is worthy enough for someone as special as her."

Tai Lung lifted his palms flat in a supplicating gesture, "What do you mean?" He was fed up by Arc's reactions towards Naki's family members.

Arc opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself knowing that Naki and her brother were in the room. He dropped his voice into a whisper, "I'll tell you later."

The lion got up, faced the girl he loved and kissed her cheek, "I'll see you later, now I have to teach Tai how to jack off properly, he's been asking me all day long!"

Tai Lung could have sworn his flesh turned red because of the pure embarrassment he felt at that moment.

"Well, have fun you two!" Naki said chuckling under her breath.

Arc grabbed the boy by the arm and exited rapidly out of the kitchen.

* * *

"What did you say to Arc earlier?" Nakira asked her brother. There must be a reason for the way he acts around her sibling?

"Not much just that I didn't wanted him to hurt you."

"Arc would never hurt me." She said defensively.

"I just wanted to know if we were clear about a certain topic and now we are."

"I think you scared him away from me." She said crossing her ams.

He placed his paw on her shoulder to reassure her, "Relax I never said he couldn't date you just as long as he didn't try to do something I wouldn't."

"I appreciate you looking out for me but mother and father raised me well."

He smiled fondly like a good big brother.

"But what Arc and I do is our business and ours only, especially what we did together last night!"

"Naki!" He yelped.

She laughed at his reaction, "You always fall for that!"

Now it was him who crossed his arms, "Excuse me for wanting to protect my little sister."

She had her hand covering her mouth to stop herself from chuckling, until she cleared her throat, "Jagter, you have nothing to worry about. You know me well and you know Arc has no bad intentions in him."

The male lion hugged his sister, "either way, be careful!"

She gave him the same look their mother seemed to have on her face all the time: determination, "I will."

* * *

Arc had taken Tai back into their room and sat on his bed.

"So why are you so shy around Naki when her family is brought up?" The cub asked.

Arc couldn't even look at the cub in the eyes but when he did Tai Lung saw something he had never seen before: complete seriousness.

"You have to promise never to tell a soul."

"I won't." Tai Lung answered and he meant it. Something that bothered Arc this much had to have a big importance.

Arc nodded then took a big breath as he prepared himself to tell the cub his secret.

"I'm…" He paused but wasn't going to finish there as he took another deep breath. However the revelation was interrupted by someone else.

"So this is where you're staying at!"

"Lan Se, what's up?" Arc greeted the cheetah who wasn't wearing his usual uniform but instead had a brown vest and black trousers on, in other words, his off duty clothes.

"I wanted to know who I could spend hours of fun with and I found you!" The tall feline said.

Arc then looked at the snow leopard in front of him and then back at the deliveryman, "I don't think you two have properly met have you?"

Lan Se looked at the boy and pursed his lips, for not being the proper gentleman that he is and introduce himself to the cub sooner, but he quickly smiled at the boy, "No we have not. Allow me to introduce myself properly: I'm Lan Se, world renounced delivery man." And as he said it he moved his hand forward, gesturing the cub to shake it.

Tai Lung smirked and shook the cheetah's paw, "I'm Tai, your worst nightmare."

The cheetah through his head back and laughed loudly.

Arc playfully nudged him on the arm, "No you're not. My worst nightmare is that a booby-trap rips my dick off."

"I was talking to Lan Se." Tai Lung said slowly.

Lan Se agreed with the lion, "No, Arc is right. Getting my dick ripped off is my worst nightmare." He then looked at the floor and a sad look crossed his face, "Well, actually my worst nightmare would be to lose…" He trailed off as the image that had risen in his head appeared.

Arc noticed the gloom feline and tried to lift his sudden sad mood, "Cheer up, as long as your alive that person will never be in any danger because you'll be there for protection."

The tall cat smiled hearing those encouraging words.

Tai Lung, on the other hand, had a blank expression on his face, somewhat similar to Arc's usual one, "You know Arc, your answer shouldn't have surprised me, especially coming from you, but it did."

The lion looked at him confused but still smiling, "Why? Isn't getting your pecker ripped off the worst thing that can happen to a guy?"

"What about losing Naki?" The cub simply said.

Arc's smiled disappeared and he looked stricken and hurt, then he his blank stare appeared and finally he fell back on his rump and started crying, "You're right, I'm a terrible person," He tried to control his breathing in order to speak until he was able to do so, "but an even worst boyfriend!"

_Ach, what have I done?_ Now Tai Lung had to fix this problem, "I never said that!"

And as Arc calmed down and tears stopped coming, the little boy tried to reassure the lion.

"Arc, you're not a bad person, you're just weird and clueless sometimes… but mostly weird."

Arc smiled at the cub and wrapped him in an embrace. Tai Lung was getting used to the lion's strong hugs with the added armor crushing factor.

Lan Se on the other hand was impressed by Arc's achievement of not just getting a girlfriend but that it was Nakira, "Whoa, Arc you're dating Tia Ra's daughter!?"

The lion nodded.

"Damn!" The cheetah said in acknowledgement to the lion and playfully punched the archeologist on the arm and winced in pain afterwards remembering the other cat's armor as pain crept from his fist up his body. "I completely forgot about those." The tall feline said gesturing at the lion's hidden armor.

The two younger cats laughed at that. It was a nice way to spend time.

The three of them spent hours exchanging words and getting to know each other. But there was one thing the cheetah has been wanting to say to Arc but forgot about it completely and remembered it just now.

"I never got the chance to properly thank you for the potion the other day. The venom would have probably killed me if it weren't for you."

"Potion? You have potions from The Underground?" Tai Lung asked the lion.

"Kind of." Arc said feeling uneasy.

The cub raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

Lan Se understood what the lion meant, "I get it. You make your own potions."

Arc nodded.

"I thought you said that was against the law?" Tai Lung asked the lion.

The archeologist looked at him and nodded, "It is."

"Then…" Tai Lung trailed off. He knew what Arc meant.

"As long as you keep it a secret I won't get in trouble." Arc said in a somewhat supplicating way.

Lan Se reassured the odd cat, "I won't, but be careful, if word gets out you'll be in deep trouble."

"I know." Arc said almost as a whisper.

"Then why would you risk your life for making illegal potions?" This came from Tai Lung ho sounded a lot more concerned about his friend's safety than anything else.

The lion happily explained, "I like helping others and since these potions are able to perform miracles I thought it would be a good idea to make my own, but in order to make them I would need to spend years in a specialized academy and earn my license. If I would have done that I wouldn't have been able to explore the world … so I stole a copy of Potions for Dumbasses from a library of one of the prestigious academies!"

Tai Lung wasn't taken back from what he just heard. Arc truly was the kindest person he ever met and at the same time the most unstable.

"And I've been making potions in secrecy ever since." Arc finished with this statement.

Lan Se raised an eyebrow, "So the potion you gave me was a Healing Potion you made by yourself?"

"It was meant to do so and seeing that you had venom injected in you I decided to give my potion a test subject." Arc responded.

"You mean, you had no idea that it would work?!"

"No, but in the end it did!"

There was silence. Lan Se had a serious expression on his face. They could hear the wind outside. What was the cheetah going to do to Arc?

"Well, it did!" Lan Se simply said with a faint chuckle in his voice.

They both shared a laugh as Tai Lung witnessed the display of brotherly friendship the two of them had or maybe they were just that sociable with people ,or at least with each other.

"Arc, I almost forgot to tell you who I crossed paths with on my way out of the valley's region." Lan Se said with a 'I-know-something-you-don't' smile.

Arc tried to guess, "Who?" Bandits? Girl scouts? Merchants?"

"The Workshop crew, that's who!"

"No way!" Arc sprang to his feet and was bouncing with excitement.

"The Workshop crew?" Tai Lung asked. He was getting tired of not knowing what everyone else was talking about.

Arc happily filled him in, "Do you remember my friends that helped me pull the big heist? Well, that's the name of their team."

Gongju…

"And that Gongju boy is part of that team?" Tai Lung said it so eagerly that anyone would think that he's a fan boy of Gongju.

"He is, in fact, he's the leader."

He was going to be reunited with Lei at long last, "Where are they then?"

The cheetah answered that, "They should arrive at the valley today, they were fixing the Thread of Hope and you know how fast they work, especially with Gongju and Ralix working alongside one another."

"I believe Ralix is a member of the crew, is he not?" Tai Lung asked with interest.

Arc was the one to answer the boy's necessity for knowledge, "He is, but he's also Gongju's best bud."

It didn't surprise him that Lei made friends; he was after all, a big sweetheart.

Arc, who was so excited about reuniting with his friends once again, was shaking and couldn't hold it in much longer, "What are we doing sitting here? We should be preparing ourselves to greet them when they do arrive!"

Tai Lung did not refute that, he wanted to meet the Gongju and find out if he truly was Lei, the Patient One.

"Did you get paid after finally delivering the message to Shifu?" Arc asked Lan Se completely out of the blue.

The cheetah without hesitation answered, "I did, you're not going to believe it but Gambler had left me a box with…" He trailed off realizing that he had revealed his clients identity.

Arc looked at him wide-eyed, "The Gambler was your client all along?!"

The cheetah sighed in defeat, and disappointment towards himself, and nodded.

"Who's The Gambler?" Tai Lung asked feeling slightly out place since he mostly never knew what Arc or anyone from The Underground talked about.

The lion was the one to fill him in, "He's a freak who you should try to avoid at all cost."

"He's a psychotic homicidal maniac." Lan Se added.

Arc then continued to explain, "No one knows how he looks like because he always wears this black cloak, but what truly sets him apart is that he always has this creepy big, wide, toothy smile."

Tai Lung's breathing stopped in that moment. They were talking about the stranger from the alley the other day.

"But don't worry, people like him stay away from places like the Valley of Peace." Arc said as he placed a paw on the boy's shoulder.

But how could that be true since he saw him a few days ago but he wasn't going to tell them that, "Lan Se just said that he received his payment."

The cheetah explained the situation, "No, I didn't finish my statement. What I tried to say was that he left my payment in a box in the middle of the road."

"Like if he knew you were going to cross that path." Tai Lung said slowly and grim with his breath stuck on his throat. This truly disturbed him a lot.

"Don't worry," Arc said with that puckish smile of his as he reassured the young cat, "for what reason could an international criminal want with you?"

That, perhaps, could be the most important question he'd ever heard of. Truly, why did this Gambler person want him and how did he know Tai Lung's real name?

But then Arc's voice became cold and hard as his facial expression said grim and nothing more, "His name says it all, if you take him on you are putting everything you hold dear at risk because if he deems you unworthy of living he will make sure you suffer till he decides to end your life."

To that Tai Lung gulped. He felt uncomfortable hearing that information but the reason for that was that this Gambler person wanted him for whatever reason. Did he deemed Tai Lung unworthy and wanted him to suffer? Or was there another reason that he could not foretell?

"Hey, Snow Cub," Arc suddenly said as his facial expression returned to their usual goofy self, "you want to accompany me? I want to hang out with my new girlfriend."

"Shouldn't you hang out with her all by yourself?"

"If she sees how good I am with children she will see what a good father material I am!"

"You pervert!" He said it trying to keep the chuckling from escaping his mouth, "why not?"

"Great, see ya Lan Se!" Arc grabbed the boy by the arm and took him to where the girl he loved was, hoping that Jagter wasn't there.

The deliveryman simply smiled and shook his head at the lion's way of living, then he thought of Frankie, the nice rabbit girl who always seemed to be nice towards him, he wanted to thank her for all she has done for him but he wondered how.

_Maybe I should take her out to eat?_

* * *

A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you're all still eager to read what happens next.

Amare means love in Latin. Beware the rabbits in Monty Python in the Holy Grail which I made reference to. When Xovius say "pleasuring a man with a socked foot does not make me gay!" is taken from an episode of Family Guy. Reference to [Blank] for Dummies is needed.

Ralix is not a Chinese name, I came up with it and I thought I should leave it the way it is after all I have changed a few of my characters' original names but I thought that this one was special.

Expect new characters on the next chapter. What will be the reactions when Tai Lung meets Gongju? Wait and see.


	15. Guang's Brother

Hope you enjoyed your happy Holidays, everyone! In this chapter I want to point out that when Xovius and Alvar are conversing with one another like if they are two different people was inspired by Gollum of _The Lord of the Rings _just in case if you don't follow the conversation and the situation, you will also learn a bit more about the Patient One and you will learn other things that will affect the future of our beloved characters and finally you will learn what Zoi did to embarrass Shifu years ago.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 15: Guang's Brother

* * *

Deep beneath the earth's crust, inside the labyrinth of tunnels that is Dinophyta's Pillar, two beings made their way to the center of the country-big structure.

It was Cinpronio and Lian, the feline leading him through the hollow insides of the pillar that was composed of tunnels and surprisingly civilizations in them.

Lian led the bird to a remote location beyond any life form. The tunnels now had rail tracks on the ground, she had informed Cinpronio about the big machines that transport people as well as resources in them to distant places, and the deeper they went the more tracks there were, some even intersected with others, until they reached the end of a tunnel but only to enter a much larger chamber that had many levels and all of them had many rail tracks.

"What is this place?" The flamingo asked feeling slightly amazed at what he was seeing.

Lian smiled, "This is a tunnel where most of the train tracks are connected to one another… but only one mishap can cause a chain reaction with every other rail."

Cinpronio was getting inpatient, "I just want to kill the brat that murdered my comrades, how is this going to help me achieve that?"

"Just follow your instructions as told and you will get exactly what you deserve." She said it with a purr in her voice.

"Then what is it that Gambler wants me to do next?"

"Just follow me!" Lian responded rather gleefully.

"And what comes after that?" He couldn't help but worry of what was going to happen after they did what they came there to do.

She then withdrew a needle from the back of her ear and gestured it towards the flamingo.

The pink bird gulped, took a step back from the cat and threw his wings in the air in a supplicating manner, "No reason for you to kill me here, see I've stopped complaining now!"

She giggled, "It's not for killing you."

"Oh," _That's a relief!_ Before he could ask her the reason for pulling out the needle she grabbed his wing and pulled him as she kept striding forward

"It's this way." She said.

"What is?"

She smirked naughtily, "You'll see!"

* * *

"Will you stop already?" Xovius said annoyed at his companion.

"No way. I have to be in tiptop shape when I ask Tigress out on a date." The 'other' panther responded as he kept doing pushups.

Xovius groaned.

Alvar just kept working out despite his friend's discomfort, "Just wait and see when she takes a good look at my bod. She'll be begging for me to ask her out!"

"You're already fit and muscular, now stop working out and let's get some grub, I'm starving dammit!" The deep, accented voiced panther retorted.

"Fine, but we're eating at someplace besides Mr. Ping's noodle shop."

"That's okay with me, I was thinking of having a bite to eat from the famous chef that is staying at the Jade Palace."

"Yeah, Arc told me the Frankie French Fry was staying…" Alvar trailed off as he heard something.

"Why'd you stop?" Xovius asked.

"Did you hear that?"

Xovius looked confused as he looked around at his surroundings, "I didn't hear anything?"

Alvar kept his cool as he listened closely the sounds in the atmosphere, "Someone or something is here."

Xovius' face suddenly turned into one of panic as he pointed towards the direction opposite to Alvar's face, "Then maybe you should try looking BEHIND YOU!"

Alvar's blood turn cold as he slowly turned around to face whatever was behind him and when he did turn completely around, he was shocked to see what was standing behind him…

Absolutely nothing.

He turned to look back at Xovius again, giving the other panther a scowl.

The deep voiced panther simply threw his paws in the air, "It was just a suggestion."

Alvar huffed and scratched the back of his head, "Maybe I'm just imagining things."

"Keep hearing things that aren't really there and people will think that!" Xovius bemused.

Alvar chuckled under his breath but he heard a sound of movement leaf litter being crushed by what he believed to be the weight of wheels, nearby.

"There it is again!" Alvar then peeked at Xovius and the other panther was staring at something with wide eyes while his jaw hung open, "Xovius, what is it?"

"That!"

Alvar looked at where his friend pointed and he too was surprised by who he saw standing at the end of the clearing. "That's, that's…"

However, Xovius reacted in paranoia and screamed in fear.

Alvar finished what he was going to say, "The Patient One."

* * *

Sitting right at the top of the thousand steps of the Jade Mountain, Arc and Tai Lung overviewed the entire valley and every other landscape in the distance. The lion was bouncing with excitement at the thought of reuniting with his old friends after so long.

The snow leopard, still interested in knowing more about Gongju, decided to squeeze a little bit more information out of the lion.

"When was the last time you saw them?"

Never taking his eyes away from the road as he waited to see any sign of any one of his friends, "About five years ago when we visited this valley!"

About five years ago? Around the time the Patient One appeared for the last time? Around the time Gongju left to pull a heist with Arc and the others? The comparisons between them led to the same conclusion: Gongju is the Patient One.

He couldn't wait any longer; he had to find out the truth as fast as possible.

"Arc, do you know anything else about the Patient One?"

The lion finally tiered his eyes from the view and looked right at the cub, "Like what?"

"Anything."

"He's a boy." Arc happily responded.

"Anything else!" Tai Lung said gritting his teeth with annoyance but Arc never got the hint… like always.

"People say he looked just like you."

"And I happen to resemble your friend Gongju, right?" Tai Lung added.

Arc happily nodded.

_Excellent!_ Everything seemed to be falling into place. Now he didn't have to journey through The Underground after all now he just had to wait but one look at Arc and Tai Lung knew his friend was eager about being reunited with his old friends.

"How about if we go down to eat something down at the valley?" Arc asked the cub.

"Sure!" The cub responded.

* * *

Down at Mr. Ping's Arc and Tai Lung made their way to the front and waited in line for the nice goose to take their order.

The lion wanted to taste the locally famous Secret Ingredient Soup and maybe if it truly was as great as the Furious Five said he would take Naki out on a date to the noodle shop so she can sample it herself. And my lips! He thought to himself.

_Ooh, that reminds me…_ He then turned to the cub with an apologetic smile, hoping that Tai wouldn't mind the company of his girlfriend.

"Hey, Tai, I was thinking if maybe we could bring Naki along in our journey, so I hope you don't mind."

That's right; he needed to tell Arc about the possible cancelation of the trip because this Gongju boy could be the Patient One after all. How would he say it to the lion without sounding like a bastard since he was going to tell him about his sudden change in mind about the journey right after the archeologist told him about bringing his girlfriend along, and knowing Arc, the lion was going to come up with the conclusion that Tai Lung didn't wanted the lioness to go with them, which will put a dent in their friendship and he was not going to do that after he saved it just a few hours ago, even if she could slow them down.

"Of course, she can… but…" How could he say it without sounding like if he changed his mind all of a sudden because his friend told him he was going to bring company, "There is a chance that I might have to cancel the trip."

"Why?" Arc actually looked hurt.

_Make up an excuse, now_. "Because I might not be properly prepared for it, physically and mentally."

He said it and it sounded so lame that the snow leopard wanted to punch himself in the face but the lion seemed to fall for it.

Arc smiled, "Don't worry, we can always go once you're ready besides don't you want to see my home, where I live, it's on the path I'm planning to take us to Zola."

That actually intrigued Tai Lung. How would the archeologist's house be like? Is it as big as a castle, is it a work of art, probably made out of rare material and filled with many interesting and ancient artifacts.

Now he definitely wanted to go on that trip but he needed to know if this Gongju kid really is who he believed to be: the Patient One.

"Is that Xovius over there?" Arc asked.

Tai Lung looked at where Arc gestured and saw the panther crouched beneath a table with wide eyes in fetal position rocking forward and backwards.

Arc approached the black cat, "What's wrong, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I did saw a ghost!" Xovius said as he shivered in fright but then the panther gathered himself, got out from beneath the table and talked with a hint of annoyance, except this was Alvar.

"You'll have to forgive Xovius, he's really afraid of ghosts."

"What happened to him?" Tai Lung asked. He got used to directing the panther as two different people depending on who the dark cat was at the time.

Alvar started explaining what occurred earlier, "We were in the forest and all of a sudden we saw the Patient One staring right at us."

"What?" Tai Lung blurted out.

The snow leopard couldn't believe what the panther just said, the Patient One had returned! But for what reason, but more important, was it really him, was it Lei?

Xovius explained what occurred, "He was there in the forest, right at the end of the clearing where you did that freaky thing of yours the other day… he was looking at us like if we were entertaining him or something."

"Wait, the Patient One was in the forest, and you didn't approach him or tried to see if he was real or not?" The snow leopard cub demanded an answer and Alvar gave him one.

"Don't look at me, Xovius is the one who ran away in fear. I tried to catch up to him but he runs too fast for me when he's frightened."

Tai Lung huffed but needed to know more before he reached any conclusions, "Can you describe how he looked like?"

The panther without the accent responded, "He looked just like you: snow leopard, golden eyes, physical resemblance, but he looked to be a little older than you, and he was wearing something white flowing with the wind."

Again, Tai Lung couldn't believe it. By the description he could tell it truly was him. The Patient One had returned to the forest. Hopefully.

"Arc, let's go to the forest, now!" Tai Lung turned to the lion with enthusiasm.

Arc scratched, uncomfortably, the back of his head, "But, what about my friends who are on their way here? I want to greet them when they arrive."

Tai Lung wanted to meet Gongju as much as Arc wanted to see his friends once more but this could be his only chance to see the ghost child with his own eyes and find out the truth. Then he came up with an idea.

"How about if we greet your friends before they arrive _and_ we can take a shortcut through the forest."

"That's a great idea!" Arc exclaimed happily.

"Good, let's go now!" Then Tai Lung heard Arc talking to someone.

"Naki, you wanna come with us? I bet you'll like my friends as much as they will like you too!"

Tai Lung looked at the lion and noticed the other teenager was there as well. _I guess they truly are inseparable._

"Um, where exactly are _we_ going?" The lioness asked.

"To meet my childhood friends!" Arc said at the top of his lungs and threw his fists in the air.

How she enjoyed the way her boyfriend was. If she wanted to know more about him and to have a better relationship, the best way was to get along with his closest friends, "Alright."

Tai Lung led the way as he eagerly strode down the streets in order to get to the forest faster but as he noticed the two teenagers behind him, they were taking their time as they conversed and looked at the interesting sights in the valley or stared at each other intently.

At this rate we'll never make it to the forest. Then he got an idea. _Time to put my child form to use._

"Hey, Arc, I bet I can beat the both of you in a race to the forest!"

"You're on!" Then he faced his girlfriend, "Naki?" He waited for an answer until she gave it to him.

She smirked, "Try to catch up!" Unexpectedly, the lioness dashed away with incredible speed and, just like her Arc ran as fast, maybe even faster.

Tai Lung smirked, he loved when things went his way. On the other hand, the two teenagers ran so fast that he was left behind even when he tried to keep up with them. _Damn small child body!_

"Wait up!" Tai Lung called out, "I said wait up!"

But they were already too far away.

Tai Lung huffed and slumped his form in defeat. On the bright side, when he gets to the forest both cats will be there waiting for him, he hoped.

Might as well walk, he thought as he took in the sights of the valley, as the two lions were a few seconds ago, taking in all of the changes he saw since the last time he was there, before he destroyed most of it twenty years ago.

It's in the past, who cares? As he waved everything about his past in this very valley off he strode forward not wanting to look at any of the establishment but he couldn't resist to peek. The stores he would visit to buy supplies and finish his errands seemed to have changed with time.

"Well, if it isn't the nice whippersnapper from the other day." A voice said coming from his right.

It was the old goat he helped with by pulling his cart. Dong was it?

"I never got to thank you for helping me that other day." The old goat said.

Tai Lung rolled his eyes, he had no time for this, "It wasn't a problem; I've had worse."

Dong just smiled, ruffled the top of the snow leopard's head and bowed to the child, "If you ever need help I'll be glad to assist!" and with that he left the scene.

Hoping that that was the last interruption he continued to reach the forest but children in the streets noticed him and ran excitedly towards him.

Unsurprisingly, the children begged and pleaded the snow leopard for his attention.

"Patient One, do kung fu!"

"Let me show you my high kick!"

"You're so cool!"

Tai Lung definitely had no time for this.

"Later, right now I'm busy."

He ran away from anyone who he thought might get in his way, trying to avoid any other distractions. He soon got exhausted and had to slow down and catch a breather. _Damn small child body!_

People on the streets noticed him and started waving at him. _You save them once from a bunch of flamingoes and they kiss your ass forever… these people deserve to get rampaged._

"Hey, there you are!" A cheerful yet soft and wheezy voice said as someone, a child, placed a paw on his shoulder. Tai Lung turned and noticed who I was: an unknown cougar boy.

The cougar drew back from the snow leopard, "Oh sorry, I thought thee were someone else."

Tai Lung just stared at this child because there truly wasn't anything else more interesting than his appearance. The cougar had a curved, pointy, aqua colored hat but that wasn't all, the kid in front of him was wearing bister pants that did not end at his waist but went along his torso concealing his body and strapped itself around the shoulders and a belt that matched the hat's color, and the boy was wearing a small grey jacket, which was big enough to cover his upper torso only, that had short sleeves. The only normal things Tai Lung spotted were the sandals and the leather gloves that the cougar was wearing. Other features that made him stand out was his big turquoise eyes, which were almost magical to stare at, in Tai Lung's opinion, and the pendant, a round oval-shaped turquoise stone, around his neck.

"It's okay." Tai Lung said waving it off.

"It was still nice meeting you." The cougar said giving him a small smile with a timid expression.

Tai Lung just gave a confused nod to the other cat and turned to head for the forest.

_Just what I needed: another weird cat that seems to like my company!_

"Yo, what's the update?" A voice distant away said; it was the voice if a boy but it was rather deep.

The cougar responded, "It wasn't him. Thou must look harder."

* * *

The two teenage lions were waiting for the young snow leopard right outside of the forest. Both of them were laughing as they tried to catch their breath after racing each other.

"That was fun!" Arc said while panting.

Naki rested on his waiting arms, "You're so fast."

"Oh, I forgot: as your official boyfriend I'm supposed to let you win." He smacked his palm against his forehead, "I'm so stupid!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave his lips a peck, "I don't care about that, but I do want to go out with you again."

Arc blushed and let out strangled shriek of joy that he tried his best to keep it to himself and not ruin the moment.

"Arc, I was thinking that, you know, now that we're dating and everything…"

"Yeah…" He couldn't help but be enthusiastic about it.

"What exactly do you have planned for the future?"

_Already thinking of how we'll live our lives together, huh? It's a good thing I already did that years ago!_ "I was thinking of exploring the rest of the world and the other places I haven't visited yet, after that I would like to settle in with the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and of course, I would love to be a father one day."

"Already thinking of starting a family?" She said with a raised eyebrow. She wanted one day to have children of her own but she wanted to enjoy her youth before becoming a wife let alone a mother.

"You never know when it's going to happen so I have prepared myself for anything that life throws at me." Arc answered with that optimistic smile of his.

Nakira liked Arc, a lot, but she needed to know how will things work out if they indeed continue their relationship, "Exactly how is it that you will maintain a family since all you do is travel and explore?"

He looked at her with those fearless and mesmerizing eyes of his, making her know that he spoke the truth, "The same way I've been living my life. I either capture my food or by selling artifacts I find in my journeys."

That was actually very interesting. Exactly, on an economical level, where did Arc stand? "And how much do you get for those?"

"Thousands and thousands of moolah!" He responded.

Naki was taken aback by that, "Wait, you're loaded?"

"Like a drunk!" Arc nodded.

"Where do you keep it?" Seriously, he traveled with barely anything, where did he keep it all?

"I stash it in my secret hiding place; a vault that only I know of and no one else."

"Huh, I told my father you had no economical problems and I was right!" She was happy that knowing that Arc proved to be a great potential husband in many ways but mostly she had proven her stubborn father wrong about the archeologist not being able to maintain a family.

However, hearing that Naki's father, indeed, does not think of him as a suitable match for his daughter, disheartened him.

"Your father talks about me? What does he say?"

Naki deepened her voice and made a serious and stoic face, like her older brother's, and imitated her father, "There's something wrong with that boy."

She laughed at herself but Arc wasn't, in fact, he was sad knowing that his girlfriend's father, and most likely her entire family, thought him of being too different to become a member of their kin.

"He thinks that?" He said slowly as he suddenly felt hurt.

The lioness tried to reassure him, "That's just my father. He thinks that about every boy that approaches me. He also thinks I should spend more time with my female friends than with a guy, even though I only have one male friend but now he's my boyfriend."

The hurting was gone. He was in disbelief but as the seconds passed he realized that he hadn't imagined her say it.

"I'm the only guy that you hang out with beside your brothers?"

Naki nodded.

Arc couldn't help but feel warm inside at the thought that Naki only had eyes for him and him only ever since they met when they were just children. He wanted to grab her by the sides, pull her in and shower her with kisses.

But there was something that he had to ask, something that's been bothering him, "How will your father and the rest of your family react when they find out about you and I?"

She smiled, "They'll be okay with it, I mean, look at Jagter, he seems okay with us dating."

With a face of discomfort and scratching the back of his neck, "About that,"

Now Naki looked concerned. How was he going to prove to her relatives that he was worthy of her?

Before he could come up with what to say a very frustrated and exhausted Tai Lung arrived at the scene.

"Next time, you two will wait for me no matter what I say!"

"Snow Cub, you made it!" Arc exclaimed.

"Come on, the Patien- I mean, your friends will be so happy to see you."

"I know!" The lion took his girlfriend's hand in his, "Won't they be surprised when they find out that I have a girlfriend, a _hot_ girlfriend?"

The three of them entered the forest and walked in a slow pace because of the snow leopard cub's small steps, but actually it was because Tai Lung was looking for any sign of the Patient One anywhere.

"Are the tales about the ghost of a boy who haunts this forest true?" Naki asked Arc.

"He wouldn't hurt anyone," He answered and then he added, "especially you."

_How would he know?_ Tai Lung thought. Sure, Lei wasn't an aggressive boy but there's no proof that it is him or that Arc knows anything about the ghost let alone of Lei, but only if Gongju truly is him.

Naki responded to the archeologist's comment, "It's not that I'm scared but interested to know what happened to him. I've heard some people talking about this Patient One child and how he disappeared five years ago."

Tai Lung was going to take that opportunity, "See Arc, even Naki is more interested in finding more information about Lei."

The female teenager blinked out of confusion and stared at Arc, "Who's Lei?" Naki asked.

"He's Guang's brother!" Surprisingly, Arc was the one who said it.

Tai Lung jaw fell as soon as the words left the lion's mouth. _How did he knew about Guang and Lei, let alone that their siblings?_

Arc saw the cub's caught off guard expression and said, "I'm not the only one who murmurs in his sleep."

"So how much do you know?" Tai Lung asked him with precaution.

"Enough to know that you're a big boy!" Arc said it casually.

The cub just stood quiet as distress filled him. Did Arc knew his secret and he was just pretending to be so clueless? He was going to see exactly how much did the lion knew and confront him about it but not while there were others around.

"And who's Guang?" Naki asked wanting to be filled in.

A grim expression crossed Arc's face as he looked away, however, Tai Lung gave her the answer she wanted, in a strangled tone.

"Lei's dead older brother."

They stood quiet for a while but nevertheless continued their journey into the depths of the forest after Arc cleared his throat signaling his company that time was wasting.

Tai Lung started to recognize the landscape: it was where he pulled the Aura Force without knowing it.

A glint caught Nakir's eyesight and he noticed what it was, "Look, isn't that one Alvar's armor plates?"

Her boyfriend then added, "Actually, I think that's Xovius'. See the burn mark on it, he tends to burn things… he has a problem."

_He's not the only one!_ Tai Lung thought with chuckle. Then he focused his attention once more to the clearing.

"So this is where they saw the Patient One."

"What happened here?" Naki said as she stared the tracks left behind by large boulders and trees as if they were pushed. Little did she know that that was Tai's doing.

Arc scratched the top of his head, "Beats me!" He looked at the sky through the canopy and noticed that the sun would set soon, "Come on, if we cross the forest fast enough we might catch up to my friends before they pass us."

This could be Tai Lung's only chance to uncover the truth of the Patient One and if he exited the forest he might never be able to, "You guys go ahead, I… I have to take care of my business if you know what I mean." He lied.

Arc nodded, "Don't take too long."

"I'll catch up." The cub reassured them as the two teenagers walked away into the depths of the forest.

Once Naki and Arc were out of site Tai Lung took that opportunity to investigate the area.

He searched every inch of the clearing, looking for any clues, until he found two straight and parallel tracks, which resembled the ones that a cart leaves on the ground. It was still the only lead he had so he followed them in an attempt at finding out if they led him to the person the panther had seen earlier, hoping that it truly was Lei.

He followed the trail until they ended against a tree.

That only meant one thing.

He had to climb the tree, which he did, hoping the person he was looking for was still up there.

As he sat on top of the canopy Tai Lung could see the entire forest as well as landscapes in the distance, including the entire Valley of Peace and the mountains that surrounded the region.

But no sign of anyone.

Defeat entered his body and right as he started descending the tree he noticed something on one of the branches in the canopy.

A ripped piece of white fabric and from the look of it the cloth was clean and not dirty or worn nor did it have mold growing on it.

The snow leopard stared at it wide-eyed and took that discovery as a way to search for more torn white pieces of cloth.

Skipping from treetop to treetop, Tai Lung kept his eyes as focused as he could, not wanting to miss a single little detail which could lead him to the Patient One.

But there was no sign of anyone. Feeling defeated once again, he started climbing down the tree on which he was perched and landed swiftly on the ground. He was going to catch up to Arc and Naki until he heard someone voice in the distance.

And from what Tai Lung could tell it was the voice of a young boy.

Without hesitation, the snow leopard followed the voice until he reached a pond. He looked around until he saw someone on the other side of the body of water. Another snow leopard.

* * *

Like always, the valley's streets were full of commotion and life and a certain rabbit chef was going to keep her promise and cook alongside the nice noodle maker from last night.

Right before turning left to enter Mr. Ping's noodle shop, Zoi called after her.

"Frankie, just the lady I was looking for!"

The raccoon looked happy and somewhat pleased, in other words, Zoi had done something sinister. Warily, the rabbit responded, "What is it?"

The reporter returned a warm and caring smile, "I am going to visit my son, it has been a while now, and I wanted to tell you so you would fill everyone in why I disappeared."

_Oh, that's it? And I was worried she had done something bad!_ "You can count on me!" Feeling better that there was no catch to the raccoon's request.

"Good, and remember: keep an eye on Tai and watch out for anyone who looks suspicious or any suspicious rumor you hear… that I did not start, of course."

To that, Frankie raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Zoi looked around and dropped her voice to a whisper, "There might be something going on that we and probably the entire valley knows nothing about, so be cautious."

After a silent moment Zoi smiled once more and then knelt down and gave the rabbit a hug, and whispered in her ear, "Sayonara."

And with that she walked away with her heavy bag but before the reporter disappeared into the horizon she looked back with a naughty smirk, "Do not forget to see my latest headline!"

Saying that she continued her way out of the valley.

"What did she mean by that?" Frankie asked herself.

Frankie noticed that many of the valley's citizens were reading Zoi's news articles and by the look on their faces it must be something scandalous. Wanting to find out what was the big scoop, the rabbit approached a man reading one of those scrolls.

"_Excusez-moi_, can I please have a look at what you're reading?"

The man looked at her and handed her the news article, "Knock yourself out!"

She took the scroll onto her hands and when she saw what was on it, her mouth hung open and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, she could have sworn the world was going to end that very second.

"My God… she actually did it… _again_!"

* * *

At the Jade Palace Master Shifu finally felt at ease as the images from that morning, and a certain nude panther, were able to be drawn out of his mind, at least just enough for him to continue his life.

_It wasn't that big, now get over it._ _Just because someone has one bigger than yours doesn't mean yours has a pathetic size._

The red panda then heard wings flapping getting nearer and that could only mean that Zeng, the messenger goose, was on his way to tell him important news or deliver something important.

He greeted the bird once he arrived. The waterfowl was carrying a scroll.

"Is that for me?" Of course it's for him, he knew that, but it was a formality to ask.

"Yes, Master Shifu."

"Who sent it?" The red panda asked the goose as he accepted the scroll.

"Miss Zenigata." The messenger said warily, knowing how Shifu felt about the reporter.

The red panda, unsurprisingly, groaned inwardly at the mentioning of Zoi, "What could be so important that that harlot needs me to know about it?"

He spread it open and took a good look at what the top article was. Shifu found out why Zoi wanted him to look at her latest news articles.

His face was stricken with shock and horror as he stared at the paper, paralyzed by its content.

Zeng noticed the old master's reaction. "Uh, Master Shifu?"

No response.

_What exactly is in that scroll?_ The goose took a peek and regretted doing so.

"Master Shifu… you, you used to be a, a, a…" He couldn't even finish the sentence.

The old master finally snapped out of his shock and threw the scroll into the flames of a brazier.

Then he grabbed the goose by his shoulders and spoke in a levelly tone, "What you saw stays here and never come out to the daylight, got it?"

"Um," Zeng had no idea how to tell him but he figured the sooner the red panda knows the better, "She already gave every villager in the market street a copy of that scroll."

* * *

At the barrack's kitchen, the Furious Five and Jagter were gathered around the table enjoying a lunch. The silence in the room was broken when Po entered with a bunch of scrolls.

"Hey guys, that Zenigata lady left us all a copy of her latest news articles."

He handed one to each of the Five except for Jagter because no scroll was signed for him.

When they all opened the scrolls they had the shock of their lives.

Po made a dumbstruck face right before he crouched on the floor and vomited.

Crane's beak hung open as a few of his body parts twitched.

Mantis, who was perched on the table, dropped his scroll and said a loud "Whoa!"

Viper gasped loudly then covered her mouth as she stared in disbelief at the images on the news article.

Tigress of all people looked disgusted and moaned, "As if what Arc did wasn't bad enough, now _this_!"

Jagter definitely wanted to know the reason for their over-the-top reactions, "What is all the commotion about?"

The lion took the scroll that Mantis had dropped and gave it good look. He suddenly realized the reason for everyone's reactions, "Master Shifu? He, he was a…"

* * *

"A porn star, that's right!" Arc nodded as he answered Naki's surprised question. Their conversation had led to the archeologist telling his girlfriend about what Zoi had done to Shifu years ago.

Nakira looked disgusted, "Of all people, one who criticizes others and yet he hasn't come to terms about and hides the fact that he used to let people paint him naked while being 'pleased' by complete strangers."

"And some of those strangers were men." Arc added.

The lioness just kept thinking of what she had heard about Master Shifu, rumors that criticized him, now she believed all of them by knowing this new fact about the old man.

Arc, knowing what she was thinking about, wanted to keep the conversation going. So he shook his head slowly in disappointment towards Shifu, "You think you know someone and then you discover that he posed naked with his legs spread out in the air in a V-shape."

_Ugh, mental image!_ Naki thought with disgust. She was still confused about a few details, "He ticked Zoi to the point she actually stooped as low as that and showed the entire valley images from his youth when he accepted to pose nude? What happened to those images?"

The archeologist shared his knowledge with his girlfriend, "I heard that Shifu ordered all of them to be burned, after suffering such a humiliation in the eyes of others, so I'm pretty sure that there aren't any copies left and villagers, a.k.a. witnesses, were paid by him to keep quiet about the whole matter."

She sighed, "That's a relief; I definitely don't want to see that old man naked again." She said remembering Arc ripping the old red panda's robes off, though she thought it was funny that time she didn't want to see that again.

Arc smiled naughtily and stepped in front of her flexing his arms, "Yeah, why would you want to look at him completely nude when you have a boyfriend who's willing to do it just for you?"

She laughed feeling a bit embarrassed about it, though inwardly she was fantasizing about asking the lion to do so just for her eyes and enjoyment only. As her thoughts made her blush she rested her head on Arc's shoulder and both of them continued to walk out of the forest.

What a great way to bond with his new girlfriend: having a nice, quiet walk in a forest just the two of them. There's no way he would want to make that moment end but he did as he thought that she still needed to be informed on another little detail about the topic they were talking about, "Do you want to know the reason why Shifu did _that_ in the first place?"

Why would someone with such a reputation, honor and high standards indulge in such a thing? She wondered until she asked Arc, "Why did he do it?"

His answer began with a snort, "Because apparently Master Oogway denied him the title of Dragon Warrior and he fell into depression: started drinking and taking drugs, and under the influence he stumbled upon the person who was in charge of the porn thing and the rest is history."

_Unbelievable, what a hypocrite!_ She thought about the red panda. Her mother has posed for artists, sometimes barely dressed, but she never did anything as close as pornography, not even when she modeled swimsuits or underwear.

They continued to walk in silence, admiring the forest and each other while they thught their companion wasn't looking. Naki, in Arc's eyes, had grown into such a breathtaking beauty he considered himself lucky to be in the presence of someone like her, let alone to be her boyfriend. The lioness stared at the male with interest at every unique feature of him, and of course his well-endowed body, that attracted her like the marking beneath his eye, his fur coloring, those exotic eyes of his and those strong muscular arms, which she hoped that she could see one day without the armor with her own eyes, but she knew that she adored him because of his personality.

The forest was very tranquil with the two lions just passing by, with not a sound except for the chirping of birds… and Arc humming what he considered his theme song.

As they finally made their way out of the forest and noticed the path Arc looked back with a worried gesture, "What's taking Tai so long?"

Nakira's attention was taken by something else, "Arc, I think I see someone on the road."

Arc looked into the direction Naki was and smiled with enthusiasm.

* * *

He made his way around the body of water to reach the other person sitting on the other side and by the way the other cat sat there meant that he hadn't noticed him.

"Hello," Tai Lung said to the crouched snow leopard by the pond a few feet away from him.

The other and older, by a few years, feline perked his ears and turned around, revealing himself to the smaller cat.

Tai Lung stared at the boy and examined every inch of his face. After a quick scan of the boy's features he felt like he would cry or run into the boy and hug him with joy.

It was just as he remembered, only a few years older, bigger, but otherwise the same. Although, he wasn't wearing a white cloak but instead he had a very long white scarf around his neck so technically the panthers were not wrong when they said he was wearing something white.

"Lei…" It was the only thing that left his mouth.

The other snow leopard raised an eyebrow, looking at the smaller cat rather suspiciously, but he changed his expression to an apologetic one, "Um, no, I think you have me confused with someone else."

Tai Lung wasn't going to give up that easily, "What are you doing all the way out here?"

The older snow leopard cub chuckled at the boy's words, "I could ask you the same thing!"

Maybe this kid wasn't who Tai Lung thought he was, "What's your name?"

"Well aren't you a curious little lad," The older cub said with a humorous air, "and you know, I mean no harm, you can sit here with me if you want!" He gestured the younger cub to sit next to him by patting the ground by his side.

"I don't think you're dangerous." Tai Lung protested as he sat down next to the other snow leopard.

The older cat smiled at the younger feline, "With the way you try to keep a distance between us and the way you were sneaking up on me, one would think that about you."

_How can I prove that he's Lei? _Was the only thing that crossed Tai Lung's mind but his thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice that came from behind him.

"Snow Cub, there you are!"

He turned around and there was Arc.

"You really had to go, didn't you?" The lion said.

Tai Lung shook his head in bemusement to the lion but then the other snow leopard spoke after he got a glimpse of the archeologist.

"Arc," The older snow leopard said as he got a better view of the lion, "is that you?"

The archeologist finally noticed the other feline and jumped in excitement, "Gongju!"

The lion ran to sweep the snow leopard off the ground and embrace him.

Tai Lung smiled with joy, the lion had revealed to him the identity of the other snow leopard and it was who he wanted to meet so badly. _So this snow leopard, the supposed ghost that the stupid panther saw, was Gongju all along. Now I need to see if he is Lei and not someone_ else.

"It's been so long! Look at how big you've gotten!" Arc told the truth; his friend was just as big as Tai the last time he saw him.

Gongju thought the same thing towards the lion, "Look who's talking, you look great; I bet girls fight over you!"

Arc's smile grew wider and there was that 'I got news for you' look in his eyes, "That's not necessary- though that would be cool- I already have a girlfriend!"

"I would like to meet her!" The snow leopard in the lion's embrace said.

"She's with Wen, though I have no idea where Ralix and Penpal are." Arc informed.

Feeling that his friend needed to be filled in, Gongju explained what had occurred that day, "Ral and I were having a race to see who got to the Valley of Peace faster, he took the dirt road while I took a path through the forest. Unfortunately, one of the wheels broke."

_Wheels?_ _Does he have a cart?_ Tai Lung thought but paid more attention to the conversation the two cats were having. Now Arc was talking.

"Wen said that they were looking for you because you hadn't arrived at the valley like you said you would and so they got worried and split up to search for you."

With a surprised and apologetic expression, Gongju explained himself, "Oh, I hadn't realized how long I've been gone. I guess having an alone time just staring at the amazements of this forest was too time consuming! I also stumbled upon a panther, I think it was that insane Alvar guy we once met, but when he laid eyes on me he ran away in fear." He was looking at Arc confused by the last part.

But the lion explained to him the reason for the panther's behavior, "He thought you were the Patient One!"

"Did he now?" Gongju said casually, and luckily Tai Lung noticed it.

"They both did," Arc added, Gongju understood what he meant since he had experienced the panther's double personality problem, "and then we found Xovius hiding beneath a table!"

Gongju looked from Arc to the small snow leopard behind the lion, "By 'we' you mean you and him, I suppose."

Arc then noticed Tai Lung; he had forgotten about him, "Gongju, have you met my friend here?"

Gongju gave another apologetic look as he scratched the back of his head, "We met but we haven't introduced each other."

Arc placed his friend in front of the younger cub. Then the taller snow leopard extended his paw, "Hello there, my name is Gongju!"

The smaller cat accepted the other's paw and shook it, "Mine's Tai."

"Huh," Gongju said as soon as he heard the boy's name but waved it off.

_What was that about?_ Tai Lung thought. Maybe Gongju recognized the name after all, "Something wrong?" He asked.

"Uh, no, it's just that I once," The bigger snow leopard began to explain but didn't finish, "never mind, I'm just rambling."

Arc grabbed the two cats in an embrace, "Come on you two, the rest of the Workshop are waiting!"

"Let me just get my chair." Gongju said as Arc placed him gently on his feet.

"Chair?" Tai Lung asked Arc.

The archeologist looked at him blankly until he realized a detail he didn't mention about his old feline friend, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that Gongju needs a _wheelchair_ in order to move around."

"What?" Tai Lung shrieked and then he looked at the bigger snow leopard who was indeed struggling to walk to a square piece of wood, lying behind a bush, with metallic hinges and one big wooden wheel on each opposite side on the ground, which unfolded, by pulling a piece, into a wheelchair.

Gongju sat on it letting relief enter his facial features. It must truly be painful for him to stand up, let alone walk.

Tai Lung still couldn't believe it: Gongju, the boy who resembles Lei, who is by far the closest he has gotten to finding him, who could actually be Lei, is _paraplegic_.

* * *

They were all seated at Mr. Ping's noddle shop; Tai Lung, Arc and Naki were conversing with Gongju and Wen, a female red fox that was far from being red because her fur was platinum where it was supposed to be red.

Moments later a smaller red fox, with red fur, running towards Gongju and wrapped an arm around his neck, "Ya found him!"

"Is he Penpal?" Tai Lung asked but he got his answer from an excited Arc.

"Ralix!"

"Arc?" The red fox ran to the lion and punched him on the shoulder, making sure not to bruise his knuckles by striking the armor, and then wrapped an arm around the feline's neck, "Ya sonofabitch, what are ya doing here!"

"Tai, this is Ralix," Arc introduced the fox, "he's Wen's little brother and Gongju's construction partner."

The small red mammal stared in amazement at Tai and then he looked at Gongju and back and forward, "Wow, ya look a lot like each other!"

"Yeah, I noticed!" Gongju said chuckling inwardly.

"Ral, this is Tai." Arc said as he shoved the cub towards the fox.

Ralix shook the boy's hand happily, "Pleasure to meet ya!"

"Where's Penpal, he's supposed to be with you." Arc asked the fox but he got the answer he wanted.

A voice came from the entrance, "Thou do not need to worry any further, I'm here!" It was the cougar from earlier, panting as he tried to catch his breath, "Ralix runs too fast for me!"

Arc pounced the cougar boy and hugged him, "Penpal, it's been so long!"

The weirdly dressed cat returned the hug, "It's pleasant to see you again, Arc."

"You don't look as surprised to see him as we were." Wen suddenly said.

"Uh, I heard some of the villagers speaking of a lion named Arc and I assumed it had to be you!" The cougar explained as he twiddled his fingers.

Arc looked around as he stared happily at everyone that he deeply cared about in the same place, "The gang is all here!"

Then he remembered he hadn't done something important, "Ooh, I haven't introduced my friends properly, now that everyone is here! This is my girlfriend: Nakira Leeu but you can call her Naki."

Ralix gave the lion a naughty look, "So this is the Naki you couldn't stop talking about all those years ago!"

The lioness blushed at the thought of Arc telling how much he adored her to his friends when he was younger.

"Whoa, since when do thou have a girlfriend?" Penpal asked with interest.

"Recently!" Naki responded as she rested her head on the archeologist's shoulder.

As Ralix made loud celebratory sounds and pumped his fist in the air repeatedly in honor of Arc and Naki being a couple, Tai Lung just stared at Gongju, who didn't showed any sign of sadness but instead pure joy and innocence, with displeasure at not being well informed. How did he become crippled? Lei was born with no disabilities so it must have happened after they were separated.

"Gongju, how did you end up on a wheelchair?" He asked and the other snow leopard gave him an answer.

"Something fell on me and it hurt my spine, now I can't walk correctly but someday when I'm older I'll be sent to a special place to heal me for good so don't worry too much about me!" Then he looked at Arc intently.

"I hope you're not still mad at yourself for it?" Gongju said it to Arc with an apologetic expression and that actually made Tai Lung wonder what happened exactly. He thought about asking but he didn't want to ruin the good mood in the room.

_I'll ask him later, when the time seems right_.

"You know what truly surprises me Arc," Ralix said with a naughty smirk on his face, "that you're actually wearing clothes!"

"Tell me about it! Wen added.

"Oh, don't worry I'll take them off later!" Arc told them for reassurance.

Everyone shared a laugh, even Tai Lung, at hearing that, all except Arc who just looked at everyone in a clueless manner, "What?"

The rest of the day was spent getting to know the archeologist's old friends. Naki finally had another teenage girl to talk to, though Wen is older than her and she seemed to be a tough girl despite the girly fashion she displays, Arc was re-bonding with his 'unique' friends, Ralix who is so loud for such a small being, Penpal who is by far the shyest person Tai Lung had ever met but talked funny and stood out from a crowd by the way he dresses specially since the boy says that he's a level twelve _sorcerer_, and Gongju…

Tai Lung was eager to ask him questions, to find out the truth, to know for sure…

_Guang gave his life for you, Lei… …are you still waiting for me, or for something else?_

Tai Lung wanted to take is mind away from his thoughts so he eavesdropped at the conversation of the two men at the other table and it truly was informative.

"Just look at the images! There's no doubt about it, Master Shifu is a man-whore."

"Gods, as if the description of his crotch on Miss Zenigata's previous article wasn't scarring enough, now there are pictures of it!"

_What the hell happened here while I was in the forest!_

* * *

Down in the depths of Dinophyta's Pillar, the flamingo and feline were both fleeing the scene. Lian had jammed a needle between the gears that move the rail tracks in order for the contraptions to exchange lanes.

The pink bird was confused by their task, "Wouldn't that cause one of the trains to collide with another?"

"Yes, and when that happens they'll have no choice but to find another way to transport themselves and their resources." Lian answered.

"Where?"

"Through the surface." She responded as she patted him on his head like a child.

Cinpronio raised an eyebrow in confusion, "From what you've told me, isn't that a bad thing?"

She smirked with a glint in her eyes, "Precisely!"

* * *

A/N: I hope that everyone's new year started off better than they thought.

For the record, the Guang in Leopard the Warrior of Africa's story (The Seven Great Warriors) is a different person than mine.

You finally learned what Zoi did to Shifu and that she did it again! What are Lian and Gambler up to? You learn in the future but trust me: it's the beginning of the problems for our heroes. I hope the new characters are to your liking, especially since now that I've introduced most of the important characters of the story, the real story can begin.


	16. Melt in your Mouth

This chapter is somewhat different than the rest. Those of you familiar with shuffles will see the difference. Some of the vignettes I did just for fun while others are important to the story's plot. I want to make things flow faster that's why I'm doing this chapter this way because if you haven't noticed it's been fifteen chapters and it has only been less than a week in the world of this story so I have to speed up things. Since people seem to like Arc a lot, oh yeah readers, you made him the fan favorite, I made this chapter mostly about him so brace yourself for a chapter filled with Arc's antics, so just to be clear: Arc is going to scar a few people for life up ahead.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda it belongs to DreamWorks. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 16: Melt in your Mouth

* * *

Weeks passed by in what seemed to be a blur. While some, like Arc, spent their time having fun and reconnecting with their old friends, others did different activities during the autumn season.

Frankie, who couldn't cook anything because the images of Shifu posing naked appeared in her head every time she tried to cook or someone said anything that was related to him and being in the Valley of Peace meant that a lot was related to him, she couldn't cook because it was too risky to prepare a meal feeling upset in any way, was going to pick up her apron and do what she loved to do: cooking.

Finally being able to put aside the image of Shifu, mostly, because a certain cheetah invited her to a dinner just for the two of them made her blush, jump, shriek and scream in joy, now she was going to keep her word with Mr. Ping and cook in his restaurant.

And knowing how amazing she felt, her food will taste even greater than usual.

As she strapped her apron on and began preparing the food next to an overexcited goose, all she could think of was the cheetah of her dreams and the dinner they would both share. She felt like she would melt at the thought, feeling her body temperature rise.

The sensation was so overpowering that Mr. Ping began to smell something burning. He looked at the stove and no fire. He looked at the fireplace and no fire. He walked pass by the rabbit and figured out where the smell was coming from: her.

She smelled like burned roses, however she showed no sign of discomfort as she happily chopped vegetables.

_Must be some new type of perfume she's wearing._

* * *

Nakira opened the door of her brother's dormitory, after following him there the second she noticed him carrying something in there.

"What do you have there, Jagter?"

He was sitting on his bed when looked up and noticed his little sister, "A letter from mother and father."

She sat next to her brother as he read the letter contents, revealing where their loved ones were spending their vacation and all of the activities they were enjoying.

"Seems like they are having fun." Though, she could tell that they were worried about them, especially their parents.

"Then you should have gone with them!" Jagter said a bit annoyed.

_And miss the chance to be with Arc? _She didn't respond him; she knew that she got herself in this on her own and she knew that she was going to miss out on family time fun.

"Mother is worried about you, I _know_ it, and so is father, but they know I can take care of you."

She was glad to have her brother, knowing that he was nearby reassured her, "How shocked were they when I told them I wanted to join you on this task instead of going on vacation with them?"

Jagter smiled. He remembered his parents' surprised expressions very well. "We should write back everything that's happened here."

"By that you mean tell them I'm dating Arc!" Naki said it blushing.

"Exactly."

They wrote their letter together and send it back.

The lioness felt nervous all of a sudden, "How do you think they'll react when they read the part about me and Arc?"

Jagter tried reassure her, "Hopefully, in a good way."

* * *

The gong rang.

"Good morning, Master."

They all stood there, not meeting anyone's' eyes, least of all the red panda at the end of the hallway, not even Shifu dared to look up at his students.

Crane cleared his throat uncomfortably.

It had been weeks since they discovered Master Shifu's shameful secret and saw the images of his past but that didn't change the fact that his students were too embarrassed about the whole situation and so was the old master.

Tigress tried to help him in this situation, "Um, Master… I think it would be better if we go to the training hall."

He nodded, never meeting anyone's eyes.

Po tried to cheer him up, "Yeah, come on and show us your best positions!" He soon realized what he had said, "Not that I want to see your sex positions!"

Shifu just stared to the floor, his cheeks burning red with shame.

Viper cut in trying to settle everything, "What he's trying to say is that we would like to learn new kung fu techniques from you."

Unfortunately, Arc gave his opinion, "Really? I thought Po meant that he wanted Shifu to teach him the different ways that he can screw someone while being screwed by a man from behind."

Tai Lung tried to hold in his laughter but couldn't as he laughed loudly. How he adored Zoi for causing this, especially since there was another ally to help him along in his plot of revenge against his old master.

Tigress gathered herself, she too was blushing from those comments, and spoke, "No, what _he_ meant to say is that, no matter what happens, you are our master and we want you to teach us what you know."

Mantis added with a snicker, like a smartass, to Monkey, "Which is not to screw strangers while posing for the artist!"

"Mantis!" Viper snapped at the insect and scolded him with her tail, "Stop mentioning his tiny dick!"

"I didn't!" The insect confirmed with a smirk.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Dragon Warrior made the morning more awkward, "Hey, Master Shifu, now that every villager possesses a copy of those pictures of you, can I walk around naked, it's been kinda hot lately?"

He lost the respect of so many and now of his own students.

"Enough!" The red panda shouted, earning silence from each of his students, until Po spoke once more.

"But Arc gets to do it!"

Shifu grumbled under his breath, he was going to punish his smartass students severely.

"So is that a yes?" Po asked hopeful.

Tigress rolled her eyes, "All of a sudden it doesn't embarrass you to be nude?"

Po answered in all honesty. "When _they_ flopped out you all saw it so there's no reason to hide 'em anymore!"

Tigress shook her head slowly, "You and Arc are so alike!"

The archeologist stepped forward and directed his attention to the striped feline, "No we're not, he's a panda and I'm a lion!"

She groaned loudly, she should have known how Arc would react to her comment, and know she had to explain to him what she tried to say, "No, I meant-"

The lion, however, continued rambling, "It's alright Tigress, not everyone can be smart enough to tell the difference between two different species!"

"Are you calling me stupid?" The female tiger said with a cold tone as she gripped her fists.

"I never called you stupid," Arc answered with his blank stare, scratching the back of his head, "do you want me to?"

Having a conversation with him was hard enough so she decided to drop the topic, "Forget it."

"Forget what?" Arc asked.

"Nothing, just forget it."

"What? What did I forget?"

"You didn't forget anything!"

"But you just said I did."

"No, I did not." She replied, her blood starting to boil.

"Oh," he stared back at her with that clueless expression of his, "Pandas are not lions."

Tigress groaned loudly. Arc was like a big child, he acted more like a kid than Xue Zai has since she met him.

While the archeologist tried to explain to Tigress the differences between him and Po, the old master was trying to gather himself and continue the day with as much dignity as he could.

But that would be a hard task, especially that morning as he glared at the two snickering students of his: Monkey and Mantis. They were trying to control themselves, out of respect for their master but mostly because they knew that Shifu was going to take it out on them during training.

Then the red panda looked at his son, Xue Zai, the boy has not mention anything about his father and the gossip going around the valley, maybe he wasn't aware of it at all, though he was, and Shifu wanted to keep it that way.

"Xue Zai, are you well?"

The cub nodded with disinterest like he always did and that bothered the red panda because the boy didn't seem to show interest in anything. The only thing he could recall that Zai enjoyed is wondering off and being in the company of Arc.

That's why he asked his students to begin training without him and as they began exiting the barracks, the old man grabbed Arc by the tail and pulled him inside of one of his student's room, Tigress'.

"Arc, I need your help."

He blinked, "What kind of help?"

"It is something important."

The lion smiled and placed his paw on the red panda's shoulder reassuringly, "Say no more because I'm going to help you!"

"So you know why I need your help?"

"Of course," Arc said it as he placed both fists on his hips in confidence, "you want me to walk around naked more often so you don't feel bad about the whole valley seeing those images of you!"

_Of course, why didn't I thought he would come up with something like that?_

"That's, uh, awfully nice of you, Arc," he tried to maintain a smile on his face just to make sure the lion would help him, "but no, the reason why I need your help is because Zai is only open to you and no one else… how can I get my son to open up to me? What does he like?"

Arc placed a finger and his lip and thought hard, "Well he does ask a lot about the Patient One."

"He likes ghost stories?"Shifu couldn't help but lift an eyebrow.

"No, I mean, he's obsessed with the Patient One. I've seen him going around the valley asking anyone if they knew anything about the ghost."

Hearing that made Shifu feel scared about his child's sanity, "Why?"_ Why must all my children have unhealthy obsessions?_

"I don't know, but I'm not going to judge someone for their hobbies!"

"What other things does he like?" The red panda hoped that there were more things that his son liked to do.

"He likes to curse a lot." Arc answered.

Shifu rolled his eyes, "Anything else?"

"He likes to stare at objects when he's alone."

The old master raised an eyebrow at hearing that, "He likes to _meditate_ in peace and quiet?"

"I guess." Arc replied.

Shifu smiled, he did have something in common with Zai after all.

"Arc, if you would be so kind, please ask Xue Zai what is his favorite meal."

"It's salmon, but why don't you ask him?" The lion asked him.

Shifu's ears drooped, "He… doesn't seem to like me very well. I've tried to make him like me by showing him kung fu in many ways and yet he seems to grow more distant from me."

Arc sat down next to the red panda, who even though was still standing up, didn't reach his shoulder, "I think you should stop trying to force him your lifestyle and let him in his."

That sounded almost incredulous to him, "But why wouldn't he, or anyone for that matter, want to enter the world that is kung fu?"

"I've seen him perform kung fu by himself and he is great at it. You could say that he's already a master!" Arc added.

"But I haven't seen him practicing on his own or saying that he is interested in kung fu." Shifu protested.

"But I _have_ seen him and I _have_ heard him with my own _three ears_!"

"What?" Shifu asked as he looked up at the lion's head.

"I said that I have heard him with my own two ears!"

"You said you had three." Master Shifu argued back.

The lion responded, almost like talking to a child, by ruffling the old man's head, "Oh Shifu, there's a number between one and three and it's called two!"

He groaned loudly as he took a deep breath and placed his palm on his face, but at least Arc's behavior towards him was still the same; the lion didn't seem bothered by the sudden news of his alleged past for posing nude and doing other unholy things. _Not that he is in any position to judge me since he is always walking around nude._

Arc continued explaining to Shifu how to earn his son's trust, "Trust me, you have to let Snow Cub come to you!"

"I've been trying to teach him all the things a father should teach his son…" Memories started flowing in and they only brought sadness to him, thankfully the lion's voice tore him from memory lane.

"Yeah but you kind of suck at it." Arc replied casually in all honesty.

_I'll pretend he didn't just say that._ "I'm a teacher." The red panda snapped back.

"But you're not a father." That made the biggest impact to the red panda despite that the lion said it so casually and so simply.

The lion's words as well as his calm and serious tone, which was something he thought he'd never hear, made him silent for a few minutes.

The red panda took a deep breath and exhaled, "Then what do you propose?"

Arc smiled.

Shifu gulped a bit. _This is not good._

"First, I need to know something."

"What?" Shifu asked throwing his hands up.

Arc grabbed the red panda by the side, held him close and licked vertically the right side of Shifu's face.

The lion stepped back from the old man, who was shocked by what his student just did, and smacked his lips.

"Yup, just what I thought: you taste bitter."

"What the hell does that even have to do with you helping me?"

"You need to adjust your attitude and personality in order for others to like you more and that includes Snow Cub."

"You got all that from savoring the sweat off of my face?"

The lion nodded, "Yup, you should try it on your students!"

The red panda raised an eyebrow at the last comment with a nonchalant expression, "You will help me, right?"

Arc nodded.

Shifu sighed in relief, "Good, at least something good came from this morning."

It seemed like the day was only going to get better.

"Look at that, Tigress wears thongs!" Arc said as he held the incriminating evidence from an open drawer.

Shifu's eye twitched as he snapped at the lion, "Don't _touch_ tha- put it down!"

* * *

Alvar had attempted many time to woo Tigress but failed. How many times can a man try to persuade a woman, fail and try again?

He once tried to ask her out during one of her training sessions which ended up him getting a round house kick by accident. At least, that's what Tigress claimed.

Then he tried to talk to her on her free time but found it difficult since Xovius interrupted him by saying rather rude things in front of the female tiger, which made her walk away or punch the panther hard in the face.

It didn't matter how much he worked out just so he could try to catch her attention with his body, somehow he ended up messing it up.

But now he was waiting for her to return from her training… in her bed, wearing nothing more than the same metallic codpiece from the night they both met. He took the liberty to set the mood by lighting a few candles as he laid sideways on top of her bed making sure to flex as many muscles as he could in order for Tigress to see them all when she walks through the door.

"Why do you even bother? She's not going to appreciate your efforts." Xovius tried to put some sense in his friend's head.

Alvar simply waved it off, but replied to the comment, "Says you!"

The deep voiced panther debated him, "Says me, and all the many times you tried to seduce her. Why don't you look for someone else, someone more pleasant to the eye?"

"Most of those times were your fault! You were talking about the sizes of our _things_ in front of her!"

Xovius looked hurt, "What? I think if you are going to impale her again she might as well know a good size when she sees it! Besides, there were other women around to overhear us!"

"There's more to life than just banging women!" Alvar said with conviction.

Xovius snorted at hearing that, "Like what?"

Truly, that was absolute nonsense what Alvar just told.

The unaccented feline answered him, "Spending your life with that special someone!"

Xovius gave up trying to convince his pal, so he sighed deeply and dealt with the fact that Alvar wasn't going to change his mind.

"'Kay, more women for me!"

Then they heard footsteps in the hallway and they kept getting closer.

"Get out she's coming!" Alvar hesitated.

Xovius sighed, "Well if you're going to seduce her, I suggest you do this completely bare. She won't resist the sight of your body!"

"What do you know?" He heard the door sliding open and in a desperate attempt Alvar swiftly took his codpiece off and hid it beneath the pillow and held his pose, flexing his torso muscles and giving a rather suggestive flirty smile and expression.

The door slid entirely open and all Alvar did was say what he had planned to say all along, "_¿Cómo estas, señorita?_"

However, it was not the striped cat but instead it was none other than Shifu, who was surprised and shocked to see the same panther from that one uncomfortable morning undressed right before his eyes.

"Not you again!

"Can you bring Tigress over here, please? But don't tell her I'm here, that would just spoil the surprise."

* * *

Everyone at the Jade Palace was getting to know Arc's old friends, especially since they were all as unique as the strange lion.

Po seemed to be the one mostly fascinated by them, that's why he was hearing a story from the cougar after the panda discovered him looking at his action figures with interest.

"A flock of demon harpies suddenly appeared and attacked us! The worst part of it all is that they breathed fire and were immune to it as well!"

"Whoa," was all Po could say to the boy's story, "I didn't even know those existed, how did you managed to escape out of that?"

Penpal kept telling about his quests, "I rolled my fifty-sided die and I luckily rolled a forty-six, _a forty-six_!"

"Whah?" Even Po could tell something wasn't right.

"I used that moment and casted a freezing spell and defeated all of the demon harpies."

He still didn't get it, though, "Uh, that's… impressive, I guess."

"I know; that dice roll saved the day!"

Now he did. Penpal was telling him a made-up quest, "Yeah…"

The boy felt happy that someone actually liked to listen to him tell his amazing tales, "Want me to tell ye about the time I took on flesh-eating goblins with just a six sided dice by myself."

"Exactly what are you talking about?"

To that Penpal looked surprised, then looked down to his feet and twiddled his fingers, "Uh, I'm talking about the adventures I had playing my favorite roleplaying game."

"Oh, I thought you were talking about actual adventures." The panda was rather annoyed about actually thinking for a second that the story was true.

Still a bit shy, the cougar defended himself, "But they are adventures. I lived them!"

Po trailed off before he could reply because he too had spent years daydreaming inside of kung fu adventures of his own.

The Dragon Warrior then smiled, "Yeah, sorry about that, you're absolutely right."

* * *

Those at the Jade Palace weren't the only one getting to know the members of the Workshop.

Especially when they saw Xue Zai walking along a child who looked just like him but was on a contraption they had never seen before.

"Another Patient One?" Was what most villagers kept repeating after seeing the two snow leopard children.

Tai Lung heard people talk about the two snow leopards who looked alike, even though, one of them was older and was on a wheelchair.

It was the talk of the whole valley.

Even Shifu had to meet this boy who looked just like his Xue Zai. And he was surprised to see that the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe they're related? He thought at one point.

Of course it lead to the red panda asking the crippled boy questions and even offered him a place to stay, which the boy surprisingly declined and his friends seemed to agree with the him.

Tai Lung, as well as the red panda, wondered why?

The four year old snow leopard was fascinated by the way Arc had spoken of Gongju and the rest of the members of the Workshop that he wanted to see them perform what they specialized in and see if the lion's praises were nothing more than him expressing his exaggerated nature.

And the lion was proven right as soon as the snow leopard, as well as many villagers, saw how the feline on a wheelchair constructed all by himself, without the assistance of his friends, the entire wall that Tai Lung had turn to rubble when he confronted the flamingos and Gongju even added windows with frames and shutters, so exquisitely detailed that the villagers wanted the boy to fix up their houses.

Of course, being the kindhearted person that he is, the crippled boy accepted the many jobs.

And it led to the other members of his team to help him finish the tasks, though they didn't mind, they seemed to enjoy themselves working together.

It was even entertaining watching them work. It was like watching a choreographed performance as they worked in harmony among each other.

Tai Lung noticed Arc watching his old friends with wonder but he could also depict sadness in his stare and he knew the reason for it. The lion missed out a whole friendship with the Workshop for, apparently, wanting to explore the world.

_Bullshit!_ Tai Lung knew that there was something the archeologist wasn't telling him and somehow that reason revolved around Gongju being crippled.

He could see how much Arc wanted to help his friends but felt that he would not fit, at least, not anymore.

Tai Lung, feeling that it was the right thing to do, smiled and tugged at Arc's sleeve, "You should ask them if you could help them!"

"You think they'll let me… after I left them behind?"

"You never know unless you try."

"Are you sure?"

"Just go on and ask."

"But what if-

"Just fucking ask them already!" The cub snapped in annoyance.

The lion still didn't seem sure. Thankfully, Tai Lung said the right words when he spoke.

"You thought Naki was going to reject you, why would your friends do the same?"

That seemed to do its charm as the lion's face lit up a bit as he strode forward to ask Gongju if he could assist them.

Tai Lung then turned his attention to Mr. Ping who was curious to see what all the commotion was all about.

"That boy, he reminds me of… you, Zai. Are you two related?"

He wasn't going to waste his time answering questions, "Does he remind you of the Patient One, by any chance?"

"_You_ remind me of him, so yes, but the ghost child I saw didn't need the help of that contraption of his to move around."

He's right. Maybe Gongju isn't the Patient One after all.

Defeat built up inside him but wasn't going to give up, not when the answers he was looking for seemed to be coming his way. He was determined to figure everything out.

Tai Lung looked back at the work in progress of the Workshop and had to smile when he saw Arc helping them with the equipment.

* * *

Lan Se was in the barracks of the Jade Palace preparing everything for the dinner for his rabbit friend. Except there was something bothering him: he didn't know how to do it. How was he going to impress Frankie with food when she is an amazing chef?

He wrote down everything he thought might be good for the occasion if not he would cross them off the list.

It was a good thing he told the rabbit that it would take him days, maybe even weeks, to prepare the meal. The rabbit believed him, after all, not everyone can be a top chef like her.

But the cheetah had not taken days, it has been weeks, actually, since he invited her to dinner, just to think what she would like. _Carrots… no, that's too cliché!_

Then he thought of her signature soup, he could make her a special soup just for her. But what would he put in it?

Then he remembered that he knew another chef, one who could help him create dinner dishes for his dear friend.

"Hey, Po, can you help me out with something?" He yelled out.

"Coming!"

People kept pouring in to the noodle shop everyday to sample the food. Ever since Frankie started cooking people have been eating constantly there and bringing their family and friends and Mr. Ping couldn't be happier.

The citizens enjoyed the amazing taste and warm feeling that the food gave them, they also liked the aroma that swept from the kitchen into the dining area and into the nearby neighborhoods, which gave everyone who sniffed it pleasurable chills.

What Mr. Ping didn't understand was how Frankie French Fry's cooking made food taste better than his when she uses the same ingredients and methods he does when preparing his dishes.

But he wasn't going to complain, especially with the amount of customers she was bringing. There was a reason why she was a world renounced chef, after all.

Sometimes his customers, mostly couples, after finishing their order paid and ran to their homes. Whatever was that they ran to do, the goose had no clue, but they did return later. However, he had noticed how sweaty and warm his clients seem to get despite the fact that it wasn't even hot outside.

"Oh Miss Frankie, I must thank you again for bringing me so many customers!"

"Just doing what I love to do!"

And what she loved to do lately was cook while thinking of her crush taking her to dinner.

* * *

As Crane returned to his quarters in the barracks he heard someone bickering outside so he decided to investigate.

Once outside, the bird noticed Arc sitting on a boulder in lotus position, what looked like to be meditating.

Well what do you know? Of all people, one who has so undisciplined took time off to achieve peace.

But just as soon as he was starting to turn to leave, he heard loud fake roars and if he had to guess it was from children.

Crane looked at where the lion was and noticed three rabbit children from the valley with their arms spread wide as they seemed to try to capture the feline in a surprise attack.

Unexpectedly, Arc leaped in to the air, dodging the incoming children.

"Aawww, you're too fast!"

The lion stood over the children looking at them in a very no-nonsense manner, "It's not that I'm too fast, it's that you guys were too loud when you were sneaking up on me to pounce me like helpless prey."

"Not to be loud, got it!"

Arc nodded, "Good, and that concludes todays pouncing lesson!" Then the lion pointed down to a specific spot on the valley, "Tomorrow we'll practice on the unsuspecting elderly!"

"Yay!" The children cheered in excitement.

Crane just shook his head slowly, "I should warn the nursing home."

* * *

Monkey just laughed as he looked at a certain panda doing a certain impression of someone, "You look just like Master Shifu!"

Everyone was having fun during breakfast, Po, on the other hand, decided to have noodles in the morning and one of them was hanging on top of his upper lip, like that other time.

Then Monkey joined in the fun by placing a noodle, from the panda's bowl, bellow his nose and imitating the giant panda as they began talking in the same fashion as their master, even if the red panda was sitting there with them. Though, he didn't seem bothered by it, in fact, he cracked a small smile as we watched his students' goofing around for a change.

Master Shifu tried to hide the smile on his face as he witnessed his student's imitating him. It was strange watching them behave this way after so many years of him forbidding them to do so. Now, it just filled him with happiness knowing that they could indeed enjoy themselves.

Viper joined in on the fun as well as she placed a noodle on top of the tip of her snout, "Look I'm Shifu too!" She said chuckling.

Crane sighed, reached for Po's bowl and placed a noodle at the tip of his beak, "I'm Shifu too!"

Arc wanted to join them all, so he grabbed Tai Lung's bowl of oatmeal, much to the snow leopard's annoyance, and dumped it over his face, "Look, I'm Shifu too!"

That raised many eyebrows around the table. Crane was the one to ask, "Um, why did you dump the oatmeal all over your face?"

The lion removed some of the mushy food out of his eyes and happilly answered in nonchalant manner, "Because that is exactly how Shifu looked like in one of those pictures surrounded by men: covered completely with white stuff!"

Silence at first.

"Eeewwwww!" Viper shrieked in disgust as she swatted her own bowl of oatmeal away.

Crane groaned, "I can never look at oatmeal the same way ever again!"

Of course, the red panda once again was suffering embarrassment courtesy of the archeologist and with no further thought he exited the kitchen trying to hide the mortification he was feeling.

"Look what you did!" Tigress furiously yelled at the oatmeal covered lion.

Arc stared at her with his blank stare. "Uh, what? You mean the mess on the floor?"

"Shifu is going to take it out on us, later on! Do you even know what consequences come from your actions?"

Now Arc looked like he got the hint, "Are you angry… at me?"

"Yes." She said sternly trying to get the message across.

Finally, something actually got through the lion's thick head! Everyone else in the room just stood there quiet but Tai Lung was ready to defend his friend if the female tiger decided to harm him. But the lion did find ways to look for reasons to get beaten up, things what he said next.

"Is it because I didn't portray you instead of Shifu?"

"No." Tigress yelled out, even more angry than before.

"Is it because I allowed Alvar to raid your underwear drawer?"

There was more silence this time before Tigress said anything.

"You what and he did what?!"

The lion explained, "He was looking for you but you were training so I told him where you keep your clothing and he wanted to take something to remember you by. Aren't you glad you have such a nice _boyfriend_ who likes being around you and sniffs your bed sheets!"

She growled and exited the kitchen.

"I'm going to check if he hasn't taken anything else and disinfect my room just to be sure."

"I thought you liked Alvar?" Arc cried out from the kitchen.

She stopped in her tracks for a short moment but continued without a word afterwards.

Arc looked confused by the tiger's reaction. _I thought she and Alvar liked each other… Oh, I think I get why she is acting this way!_ He then yelled out what he thought was the reason of her troubles.

"Are you on your period?"

* * *

Gongju was sitting by the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom staring at the sky but to Tai Lung, who was observing the handicapped boy from behind making sure the older cub didn't know he was there, had no clue of why the other cub was just looking at clouds.

He had been following Gongju all day long without being noticed trying to figure anything about him, find out any clue that might lead him in the right direction.

"You know, you have got to stop stalking me!"

Tai Lung flinched after hearing the other snow leopard speak to him, "Oh, uh, how long did you…?"

"I heard your footsteps… and you've been following me everywhere."

_Wow, he has sharp hearing!_ "What are you doing?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted a moment to myself."

Tai Lung strode forward and sat next to the bigger snow leopard. _He's grown so much!_

"Where are you from?" Tai Lung asked.

"I, I don't know." Was the answer the handicapped child said, though, not meeting the other boy's eyes, "What about you?"

If the former wasn't going to tell him anything neither would he, "Well aren't you a curious one!"

Tai Lung could tell that Gongju was trying to avoid the question and that he was as smart as Arc had said he was, seeing the crippled feline along with Ralix build a new cart for Dong in mere minutes was truly impressive.

As he remembered that event, Tai Lung leaned against the tree and discovered Gongju's wheelchair in its folded form.

Just as the handicapped cat had described him, Tai Lung's curiosity got the better of him and took the wooden, folded contraption in his hands. He touched everything he found on the surface: buttons and tiny levers by the side, until it popped open, unfolding itself into a wheelchair.

Gongju grasped his wrist and pulled him away from his mode of transportation, "Be careful with that; some of those are for self-defense."

The crippled boy folded the contraption once more to its easier-to-carry state and, thanks to two straps on one of the sides, he wore it like a backpack.

Now that truly was handy.

Tai Lung nodded in approval of the boy's convenience, "What Arc said about you is true: you really do think of everything."

Gongju smiled as he remembered the lion when he had first met him, "I'm really glad he hasn't changed a bit since the last time we saw each other."

Tai Lung imagined Arc five years younger and every wild thing he could have done as an unsupervised out of control kid. He chuckled under his breath at the thought, "I believe you!"

Gongju laughed and that actually made Tai Lung smile: to see, the possibly, Lei happy and laughing.

Then he remembered what Mr. Ping had told him about his encounter with the ghost child. The smaller snow leopard observed with precision the other feline, especially, the places that the goose had mentioned about having standout features.

Gongju's arms had rosettes just like a snow leopard should, however, neither of them had burn marks nor charred scars, neither did his face or the top of his head.

Maybe the old goose's eyes were playing tricks on him that night, after all, he is old and his encounter with the Patient One was during the nighttime.

_I need to know… _Tai Lung thought to himself. In a desperate attempt to get the answer he wanted, he blurted out the question.

"Is Gongju your real name?"

The older cub looked at him with an expressionless face but then smiled once more, "I never had anyone when I was really young so I named myself just like-"

"Just like Arc." Tai Lung finished the boy's sentence. He felt defeated, however, getting the answers he was seeking wasn't going to be easy.

"Right." Gongju nodded in agreement to the younger cub's response.

He was such a kind person, just as he remembered Lei to be. Maybe his friends knew his real name and probably other things that could help him prove if Gongju truly is the Patient One.

With his always hopeful attitude and that shining smile, Tai Lung could say that he and Arc are related. He smiled at the thought.

Gongju took off and unfolded his wheelchair and sat on it, "We should head back to my friends, we're building a fountain later."

"Why were you all the way up here?" Tai Lung was surprised he hadn't asked that before.

"I don't know?" The crippled child answered nonchalant.

_Well, at least that is like Arc._

* * *

She just kept getting the attention of every teenage boy in the valley. Everywhere she strutted, eyes fell on her. Wen just adored that effect, making guys fall over for her.

The vixen didn't even need anything from the stores or any place, she just wanted the men to notice her. It was one of her favorite pastimes.

Ralix knew exactly what she was doing and sighed, "Yo sis, stop doing that, ya know dad beat up the last guy who brushed your arm as he passed by."

"That was because daddy was nearby besides I'm doing this to get reactions out of guys." Wen responded without a care.

Tigress and Viper, who were accompanying the vixen, were rather concerned about her actions. Wen could easily get in trouble if some pervert attacked her.

"So you basically like to cock-tease men, without the cock-teasing?" Viper said to the female fox, sounding concerned trying to get the message across.

"Pretty much!" The vixen responded, "It's funny, isn't it?"

"You shouldn't be sashaying your hips to every guy for no reason." Tigress cut in.

The vixen snapped back, "Hey, you're the one that slept with a complete stranger who talks to himself!"

The female tiger was dumbstruck by that comment, "How did y- _Viper_!"

The serpent looked apologetic and exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist, do you know how long I have craved to have someone as sassy as I am?!"

"Well don't go telling people about my one night stand!"

"Um Tigress…" Viper gestured at Wen's little brother.

The little fox boy simply waved it off, "Pfft, like I don't know what sex is!"

"What's wrong with kids these days?" Tigress said shook her head slowly.

And she was right if Xue Zai and Arc were any indication.

"Too much freedom from our parents!" The boy replied.

* * *

Po was watching Gongju and his team fixing the wall that had crumbled against the power behind one of Tigress' kicks in the training hall. He was intrigued by them but mostly the boy on the wheelchair. The giant panda remembered the day he met the child, he was laying back in the barracks, enjoying himself before he was asked to go train and then he heard a small voice talk to him.

"Gee, for a kung fu warrior you don't do much."

It was Gongju.

Po got up from his bed and smirked at the boy.

"Me, I'm the Dragon Warrior." He said it with so much pride in his warrior title and while taking a kung fu stance.

The boy simply looked at him expressionlessly, "So?" That made Po deflate from where he stood, "You could be doing something productive while you're not training."

The panda didn't know what the boy was talking about so he tried to explain himself.

"The only time I'm not training is breakfast, lunch, dinner and sleeping time, so I don't have much time to myself."

"What about now?" Gongju asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm taking my break so it's just me relaxing and enjoying myself."

"But you're the Dragon Warrior…" The snow leopard raised an eyebrow.

Po then smiled and crossed his arms, "I know what you want: to see the Dragon Warrior show off his awesomeness, am I right?"

"Um, no."

"Oh, uh, you want my autograph?"

"No, that won't be necessary." Then the boy turned to leave, "Have a nice day!"

Po looked dumbstruck. Since when did a little boy refuse to see the Dragon Warrior or to get his autograph?

"Are you looking for someone?"

"No, I'm just looking around." The boy responded.

"Ah, I get it, you're looking for the Furious Five, right?" A smug look covered the panda's face.

"Not really."

The panda looked lost, "Then what are you doing?"

Gongju eyed him but continued, "I guess I just want to get to know this place better."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

It made no sense to Po why a child would be at the barracks just to have a look around to get to know it better, and then it hit him, "Are you enrolling in the Jade Palace?"

No response at first.

"No." The boy responded as he reached the room at the end of the hallway.

Now Po looked concerned.

"Hey you can't enter that room, it's Master Shifu's!"

The boy looked back at him without a sign of a facial expression.

"This is his room?"

"Yes." Po snapped.

"Huh?" Was all Gongju said as he turned away from the red panda's quarters.

The Dragon Warrior tried once more to see if he could get the boy to obey him.

"Come on, you can't be here, it's for kung fu warriors who work hard and don't rest until they master their lesson!"

The child looked at him, "Oh, have you gone to training today?"

"Uh, no."

"Then _you_ shouldn't be here either!" Gongju said as he propelled himself towards the exit of the barracks.

The panda blinked right after the boy's words made their way through his thick skull. It sounded incredulous to him, "Whah?"

Gongju then grabbed his wrist and gestured to follow, "Come now, if you're not going to study or train in kung fu then you might as well make yourself useful and help me and my friends."

"What?"

The boy explained further, "We're building a new bridge on the eastern side of the valley. Some farmers are tired of having to cross the stream of water in order to get to their crops and end up getting wet or swept by the stream."

_Well, I don't really have anything else to do…_

"But I don't know how to build anything." Po responded feeling a bit embarrassed by his answer.

The crippled child smiled, "It's okay, all you have to do is help carry the supplies the villagers provided us."

"Oh, sure, I can do that!"

"And after we're finished you can test the bridge if it's safe or not!"

"Alright, that doesn't seem too hard." The panda said as he scratched the top of his head.

Gongju smiled, "Good, now let's go before they start without us!"

And the event that came after that showed how Po got to know the Workshop and it's members better.

* * *

Naki was sitting at the edge of the Moon Pool in the Hall of Warriors as she watched a certain nude lion enjoying himself by having a swim. I repeat: Arc is skinny dipping in the Moon Pool.

"Arc maybe you should get out of there before you get in trouble."

"How can I get in trouble?" The archeologist said as hehappily swam in the refreshing water, "It's a _pool_!"

She just shook her head slowly in bemusement.

"Come on in, the water's fine!"

"I don't know…" She scratched the back of her neck as she felt a little bit uncomfortable. She had gotten used to her boyfriend being nude but what bothered her was what he had just implied: would you like to get undressed and join me?

She blushed a bit at thinking of that.

Without warning the male lion wrapped his arms around the female and pulled her into the water making a big splash in the process.

She reached the surface and breathed deeply, then she reached for the edge and climbed out. "It's cold!"

"Really? I'm okay. I guess after a while you just get used to it" Then, with his hand, he check his groin area and gasped, "They retracted into my body!"

Naki walked to the bunch of lit candles against the wall to warm up.

Arc seeing her walking away, stopped swimming and got out of the Moon Pool. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm freezing!" She retorted angrily.

Her words hurt him. The male strode forward to the shivering lioness but before reaching her, he got down on all fours and shook his body entirely in an attempt to dry himself off and once he was finished his fur stood on end; he looked like a ball of fluff, especially his mane. Arc stood up with all of his hair in that voluminous and fluffy fashion.

Naki smiled a bit at seeing him like that, she thought it was a look that suited his personality: cuddly and lovable.

Arc once more rapped his armored arms around his girlfriend but this time in a tight hug but making sure not to harm her. Then he whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry."

Then he drew back just a bit so she could stare him in the eyes. Those orbs showed her that there truly is no malice in him and that there are no bad intentions in his actions.

Slowly a smile grew on her face and gave him a quick kiss and that made him smile as well as he pressed his body against her. "Don't worry, I'll warm you up!"

Naki on the other hand was thinking of something else: Arc was naked and he was embracing her so she did what she though was right.

She ran her hand along his backside, his muscular backside, which made both of them purr with delight.

* * *

Tai Lung laid on the barrack's roof staring at the stars in the night, thinking about a strategy in case if everything he was planning backfired on him.

Before taking his revenge, he needed to uncover the truth about the Patient One and anything related to him. After that, the snow leopard would take his vengeance against Shifu.

He was tired of pretending to be Xue Zai but more importantly, he was tired of watching his enemies, especially Shifu and the fat panda, every single day without pulverizing them, punishing them all for the suffering they caused him. He was tired of pretending to be a little cub but he had to do withstand it all because he knew what was at stake: finding the truth behind the Patient One and Lei.

Tai Lung breathed deeply. Maybe I should forget about taking revenge. He thought only to remember those awful memories.

He shook his head wanting to make them go away.

_No, he has to pay for what he did to Lei, to Guang and the others…_

His thoughts came to a memory that haunted him just like many others.

He pictured Guang, a teenage snow leopard, bleeding a pool of blood right in front of him and he wasn't able to do anything, just watch him slowly die.

Tai Lung gripped the roof tiles so hard that they cracked. Anger filled him, he didn't care that the broken tile went right through the flesh of his paw, and as he pressed his eyes shut and allowed a few tears to crawl down his cheeks the snow leopard gathered himself and gritted his teeth.

"Make no mistake Shifu… you _will_ pay for what you did!"

Then the wind picked and a flower that was swept by the air current landed on his chest.

He stared at it, remembering the meadow and the promise he once made. Without hesitation, the cub crushed the flower in his paw and ran to the valley. Something down there should take his mind off of his problems.

Tai Lung walked down the streets of the village until he reached the flower shop, full of commotion, where he had met Jun Ma a few days ago. He entered the place and no one bothered to stop him or question his reason for being there and up so late, he just entered, saw men escorting women into the back and the day's products (flowers, pots, and plants) piled against a corner.

But he didn't care about that; all he cared about was finding the nice rabbit lady. So he headed to the back.

Then he heard a familiar, deep voice coming from one of the rooms, "Yeah give it to me! How can Alvar even say that he doesn't want to enjoy two women at the same time?"

_Stupid panther!_ Tai Lung thought, as he walked past the door to where obviously Xovius was having a throw down.

Then he saw a room with an open door and he peered inside and there she was, sitting on a chair, looking out the window, staring at the star filled sky.

"You got a minute?"

The rabbit noticed him standing a few feet away from her, "What are you doing up so late? You should be fast asleep in your warm bed in your home."

The cub just strode forward as if she hadn't said anything.

"I want love."

She recoiled at those words, "Excuse me?"

"I heard that prostitutes will give love to anyone who is willing to pay."

She looked appalled, "I no longer offer such services and I would never offer them to a child."

"I am not here for sex… I want to know how it feels… to be loved… by a mother."

Tai Lung had found out why the rabbit lady had chosen the life of a prostitute years ago and he discovered that it was to maintain her children well fed and under a roof.

The snow leopard placed coins on top of a dresser and cuddled next to the woman, who was surprised by what was occurring at the moment. A child wanted love because he didn't receive it from a mother. Seeing the boy hugging her tightly expecting her to show some form of affection, made her eyes drench in tears. Jun Ma did what was natural for her when her child needed it, she wrapped her arms around the boy and, in a way, cradled him.

So this is what the love of a mother felt like. How he had always wondered the feeling of having someone who cared about you and loved you just for being you.

The rabbit started singing a lullaby, one that which she sang for her own children at nights.

Despite the night, as well as his mind, filled with noises and awful things, Tai Lung felt so peaceful, so calm and so comfy… that he fell asleep on the woman's caring arms.

When was the last time he was held like this? Never, or at least, in a time he couldn't recall.

* * *

The Workshop kids seemed to be just as busy as Mr. Ping with Frankie helping him out. Once the citizens of the valley saw what they were capable of they had been getting requests to build structures or fix them. There was even the time they were asked to demolish a building… just to build a new one in its place.

Gongju and Ralix did most of the work while Wen and Penpal assisted them on whatever was their task. It truly lifted their already happy demeanor when Arc joined to help them, especially when the red fox had announced that they were going to build a place of their own in the valley.

The lion, being the strongest of them all, assisted in lifting and carrying everything heavy and big.

Gongju had announced that the reason for them (he, Ralix, Wen and Penpal) building a place for their own is because they had decided to stay in the valley for a while. That explained their refusal to stay in the Jade Palace.

Arc, of course, couldn't be happier to know that his friends were going to stay longer than expected.

It didn't surprise anyone why each member of the Workshop was necessary to the team, including Arc.

Gongju, the youngest person in the group, only nine years of age, was by far the smartest person Tai Lung has ever come across with and he, despite his disability, had such grace, coordination and dedication towards everything he did and he did while bringing this positive atmosphere with him by always being calmed and kind to everyone, which is the reason why he makes a great leader to his friends. From what anyone can say about his ability with tools, the boy was named right. His weapon of choice would be his toolbox because then he would have everything he needed to survive that's why he turned every tool he had into one handy crossbow-like contraption.

Ralix, the loud one, being a year and a half older than Gongju, had as much capacity with tools as his best friend but he had more energy than the others. He desired to use his fists or anything at his reach but mostly he just used his fists.

Wen, being the only girl in the group and the oldest, is very motherly towards the boys, especially Ralix since he is her little brother; she is their bodyguard, so to speak. She's a tomboy who wears the most girly clothing imaginable: a dress, a silver diamond encrusted, flower-shaped earing and, most noticeable, she is quite tall for a fox. Being older than her brother, she was thought how to fight from her father.

Penpal, a quiet person who stands out of a crowd but likes to be in the background, assisted his comrades by following his leader's orders loyally, never doubting a word of the snow leopard in the wheelchair, knowing that he trusts his friend and that he would never want harm to come him or any other member of the team.

They all indeed were important to the team, not just in construction but also in battle.

And then there was Arc, the other member of the team who went solo for, what the lion claims, would have limited his adventures but how can that be since the Workshop traveled everywhere and had many adventures of their own.

Something didn't add up and Tai Lung of all people wanted to find out the truth.

* * *

The Furious Five, the Workshop kids, Po, Arc and Tai Lung had gathered in Mr. Ping's noodle shop. They all had heard how amazing the food tasted and wanted to sample it.

Mr. Ping, seeing that his customers enjoyed his food a lot that they kept coming back after a half hour later, their clothes barely on and loosened, sweaty and panting, saying that they needed more, decided to make a new dish, especially since this day there were new customers seated in the dinning yard.

A deep fried ball of dough filled with tofu.

Before he allowed clients to order them, the goose wanted his son and friends and the current customers in the shop to test them. The bird placed a bowl full of them in the middle of the table, "These are brand new and I would like to know what you think about them… and maybe you can come up with a name for my latest work of art!"

Everyone took one, some eyed it closely, others gave it a sniff, but ultimately they all took a bite out of the edible ball, but others (Arc, Po and Ralix) engulfed the whole thing.

The goose was delighted to hear the pleasurable moans coming from his son and company, even from Tai and Tigress.

Po munched happily as he flavored the snacks, "Did Frankie cook this, dad?" He said it sounding muffled because of his full mouth.

The goose placed his fists on his hips, "No, I did! I can cook just as good!"

People on other tables seemed to like his new creation as well, "I just need to find a good name for them and advertise them to let the valley know of my yummy concoction."

Arc, who liked the goose's snacks so much that he was scarfing down as many as possible, thought he could come up with a good name for them and advertise them as well.

_They're tasty… Tasty… and they hit the spot like, like popsicles- ooh that's it!_

The lion got on the table and promoted the new recipe the best way he knew, "Everyone, try the newest delicacy in the valley, try Mr. Ping's _Tastycles_!"

Every person in the shop, Ping, Po, the Furious Five, the Workshop, Naki, Tai Lung and all the other people jumped in their seats at hearing the name the lion gave the new dish. Some covered their mouths in surprise but others (Monkey, Mantis and Ralix) did it to hold in their laughter, while most everyone hung their jaws open in utter disgust at what the name sounded like and what the orbs looked like to begin with.

The lion wasn't done there. He still needed to advertise the new recipe.

"Mr. Ping's Tastycles, you just want to lick 'em!" As if that didn't make people feel repulsed and make stomachs turn, a few even spat out chewed pieces of the fried orbs, Arc then gave one a quick lick, "Mmmm, salty!"

A few of the customers gagged but the lion continued as he walked to another table, "Tastycles: they're crunchy on the outside but gooey, and viscous, on the inside!"

If the customers at that table didn't lose their last meal over that what came next probably will accomplish that.

"Put them in your mouth and slurp the juice out of them!" He did as he said, to the customers' horror. However, Ralix was laughing hard along with Mantis and Monkey as they enjoyed the free entertainment courtesy of the lion.

Then Arc grabbed two of the edible orbs, from the bowl on the table, and presented them, in his grasp, to an elderly woman who just so happen to walk in, "Try Mr. Ping's Tastycles, they melt in your mouth and they jiggle on your hand!" The lion shook his paw a bit, which made the balls jiggle in a gelatinous manner.

The old lady gasped loudly in shock, fell back and passed out.

Then the lion ran to two men outside the shop, "Try Mr. Ping's Tastycles!"

The men gasped as they looked at the two objects in the lion's paw, "Where did you get those?"

"I took them from Mr. Ping himself!" Arc responded.

The two men were still for a few seconds before they ran away screaming in terror, "He castrated Ping!", which made people out on the street place their attention on the lion, "Don't worry you two, Mr. Ping was okay with me taking his Tastycles and show them to you!" He yelled out to the two men.

Arc then saw the people staring and he decided to keep promoting the edible orbs by pressing one and holding it near his mouth, "If you squeeze Mr. Ping's Tastycles, they ooze their creamy filling!" As the crispy snacks squirted the gooey tofu in to the lion's maw, the bystanders, who watched the lion's promotion, backed away in horror and disgust while others ran to their homes and locked their doors.

Feeling satisfied with what he did, Arc walked back to the table where all of his friends were chuckling under their breath, even Tai Lung and Naki, Monkey and Mantis were laughing out loud while the other members of the Furious Five were bothered and appalled by the things they heard, Po was blushing hard out of embarrassment and Mr. Ping just looked serious and once the lion took his seat, the goose strode to him.

"Arc," The lion turned his attention to the bird with a satisfied smile on his face to prove that he did a job well done, "Your promotional ideas, they are…"

"Yeah?" Those hopeful golden eyes were waiting for the praise that he deserved.

Everyone expected the goose to scold the lion… but they were wrong.

"Brilliant! I need more advertisement like that!"

Arc proudly placed his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest, "No need to thank me, it was a pleasure to help out!"

"How do you think your father is going to get back all of the customers that Arc scared away?" Viper asked Po.

"With Frankie cooking here, they will be lining up soon for supper!" The panda replied.

The goose was so excited about the lion helping him advertise his restaurant.

"Oh Arc, just let me show you my other newest delicacy, it's the same thing except I rolled it until it's long and kind of cylindrical."

"I got the perfect name for that!" Arc responded very hopeful and sure of himself.

That was the cue for some of them to leave before anything else was said.

"I'm out of here!" Crane said without hesitation and exited the restaurant just like the rest of the Furious Five.

"See ya later, dad!"

The archeologist looked confused at their sudden exit.

"I wonder why they're in such a rush."

* * *

Tigress was looking for the Dragon Warrior for training because he never showed up for their morning routine. Frankly, she was getting tired of him being so lazy and she was going to confront him on the issue.

She reached his room in the barracks and slid the door open, "Po, I need to have a word with…"

She trailed off at the sight in front of her: Po, the Dragon Warrior, wearing nothing more than a pink dress.

"Um, I, uh, I can explain."

Tigress immediately slid the door close and walked away, wishing she could erase what she just witnessed from her mind.

* * *

Tonight was the night, the night of her date with Lan Se and Frankie couldn't be any happier. She was going to wear something different, something not white. Maybe blue just like him. _No that's just tacky!_

How about red? ...Yeah that could look good.

Lan Se on the other hand was waiting for Frankie to arrive the special place that he had picked out for their dinner, a luxurious suite at the valley's inn. No, he was not planning to take the rabbit to a bed after wards, the room was very pleasant looking and had only a table in the center with the silverware, which was hard to get since he's in China, and the food he had ordered for this event was in the next room, which is being attended by the inn's staff.

Po had done a lot with the soup, the panda had offered the best ingredient for rabbits he knew. Lan Se was overjoyed to know that the panda was so skilled at knowing people's favored food, but he was annoyed and disappointed when Po told him to use carrots above all.

Nevertheless, the cheetah did as the panda said but found out it was harder than he though so he paid the inn's staff to do it for him.

And now he was waiting for the rabbit chef to arrive and enjoy herself.

Then the door opened slightly revealing Frankie wearing a lovely sky-blue cheongsam with a flower pattern stitching.

Lan Se whistled out of amazement, he had never seen her wearing anything beside white, "Nice entrance!"

"Do you think I should have done some sort of magic trick?" Frankie asked out of curiosity.

"So I could spend the rest of the evening wondering how exactly you pull the stunt!"

The cheetah led her to her chair.

"What are we having tonight?"

"Something special!"

The inn's staff entered with trays covered with lids.

"Hope you're into carrot soup!"

_Five minutes later._

Frankie and Lan Se, both covered in soot and ash, as well as everyone who was inside of the inn, were staring at the very same building they had just evacuated burn down to the ground. Thankfully, no one was injured and no one died.

One of the staff members tripped knocking a lit candle from the table, rolling all the way to the long window curtains. The flames spread too fast for anyone to stop it from engulfing the entire place.

Lan Se looked down and saw how frightened the rabbit chef was from the near death experience.

"You still hungry?"

She looked and her expression lightened, still a bit sad but she still gave a small smile. "Oh yeah!"

"Mr. Ping's?" The cheetah offered.

"That sounds lovely!"

The rest of the evening went better. They had fun, told stories and enjoyed each other's company.

Truly, it couldn't have been more perfect.

* * *

It was the middle of the night and Shifu wanted to check upon his students, who should have fallen asleep hours ago, making sure that they were all following their curfew. He then heard voices coming from Xue Zai and Arc's shared room.

"When you found me in the forest, why did you react so surprised at the fact that I wasn't wearing any clothes?"

"Because I picture children with their mother and they do tend to protect their kids, especially making sure that they're fully clothed, to protect them from the cold I guess, and when I discovered you naked the first thing I thought is that you had gone through something bad and I was right." The lion responded but didn't finish there.

"The things you say in your sleep confirmed it."

It bothered Tai Lung that Arc knew certain things about him, maybe a lot, but he didn't know what and how much exactly did the lion know, "What have I said while I was asleep?"

"You've talked about your family…" The archeologist trailed off knowing that the topic might not be the best thing to talk about, "By the way you spoke their names I realized what became of them."

Tai Lung didn't respond he just tried to evade the lion's eyes.

"Lei and Guang were your family, weren't they?" Arc asked trying not to sound disrespectful but concerned for the cub.

Tai Lung, again, didn't respond. It was painful to think about, even if they were not his brothers.

Arc tried to share something about himself in hopes of reaching out to the boy.

"You know, I once had a brother named Guang too."

Tai Lung's ears peered up and turned his attention to the other feline at hearing that last part, "Really?"

Arc nodded, "But I never met him; he was killed…"

The cub knew what the lion meant, "You told me. It's okay, you don't have to tell me everything."

"Tai, what was your family like?" Curiosity burned inside Arc's golden eyes.

_Tai?_ Master Shifu thought to himself as he pressed himself against the wooden frame of the door to listen better the two young felines.

Tai Lung never met his parents so the only solution was the family of his supposed 'siblings', "I never got to know them in any way… I just saw them beg for their lives and die right before me."

Arc's expression fell, the snow leopard hasn't seen the lion look that way before because of his positive attitude but looking at the archeologist this way truly was something he never thought he'd see.

The lion tried his best to keep his voice from breaking at the news of his friend's sibling's deaths, "That's why you kept calling out their names when you were sleeping…"

This was the perfect moment to question the lion about the things he heard him say while sleeping. Now that they were talking about it and there wasn't anyone who could hear them. Maybe the snow leopard could confess a few things to his ally, after all, Arc wouldn't turn him away like many others have.

"Arc, about my dreams, when you told me that I was a big boy, what did you mean by that?"

The lion answered without a doubt.

"You've gone through so much in your life that I'm impressed that someone as young as you has gone through so much. You're not a little child; you're a big person since you are able to keep on living even after everything you've suffered." He said it almost proud of the boy.

Tai Lung smiled and rubbed at his tired eyes, "We definitely need to go to sleep, Shifu is planning to train us on a harder course tomorrow."

"Tell him to take it easy." Arc said.

"You can't tell that little _bitch_ anything, he'll belch blood all over everything!"

Arc's eyes widened, "I didn't know he could vomit blood." The snow leopard snickered at his friend's cluelessness until the lion told him the next thing, "But you don't have to tell him because he's been eavesdropping on us this whole time!"

"What?" Tai Lung snapped as he turned his view to the door.

Shifu reacted in surprise and dashed away without making a sound.

Tai Lung was cursing to himself. Had Shifu heard Arc call him Tai?

For now all he could tell that the red panda might know is that he had his 'brothers' killed. He wanted to punch Arc in the face for not telling him earlier about the old master eavesdropping on them. _I hope this doesn't backfire on me._

* * *

Tigress, Viper, Naki and Wen where all having an all-girl alone time, away from the guys and their daily misadventures.

"How did you and Arc end up together, by the way?" Viper asked the lioness.

"We had sex." Naki blurted out.

"Whoa!" Viper exclaimed and she wasn't the only one, Wen and Tigress were both shocked to hear those words come out of the well-mannered girl's mouth.

Naki threw her palms in the air, "I'm kidding; we didn't go any further than kissing and cuddling!"

The serpent then added, "Unless you consider hanging out and cuddling with your boyfriend while he is completely nude something not beyond the line of further!"

She blushed as she remembered all the times she had gone out with the archeologist, "He keeps bringing me gifts!"

She ran her fingers along the bracelet he gave her for their one month anniversary of being together. The male lion claimed the beads were actual yellow diamonds, which he obtained in a mine a few years back for helping the miners, all tied together by string (clearly, Arc made it by himself). He also told her that he had been saving them to give them as a present for her.

"Sometimes flowers and other times candy."

Viper then eyed suspiciously, though with a smirk, the striped feline beside her.

"Isn't that panther bringing you gifts too, Tigress?"

The striped cat groaned loudly, "Don't even mention his name."

"What do you mean? He seems to be really into you!" Wen said it like if she didn't know who she was talking to and even pinched the tiger's cheeks and shook them a bit.

Tigress, of course, back away from the vixen's reach, "He talks to himself. Do I need to say more?"

"He likes you!" Viper pushed on the fantasy that her friend and a stud like Alvar could become a couple.

The tiger retorted with conviction, "And the person who he talks to is a pervert who only seeks women for the thrill of it."

She had her there. That truly was a huge turnoff. But Viper wasn't giving up.

"What about the normal side of him?"

Tigress thought about it for second or so and spoke, "That man is, somewhat, acceptable, the _freak_ isn't!"

Wen tried to make the tiger reach the most logical conclusion, "Give him a chance, babe! Face it, most men are terrified of you and he isn't!"

Tigress crossed her arms and sent her a cold glare, "What are you saying?" _I'm just as hot as any other woman out there! Right?_

Thankfully for the vixen, Viper explained it, "She's saying that you are not getting any younger!" That didn't seem to make Tigress feel better, "There's a man that likes you and you should try and see if he is up to your standards!"

Naki then pointed at the boxes of chocolates and flowers beneath the striped feline's bed, "Look at all of the gifts he brings you, he really likes you!"

Tigress sighed deeply. "I guess."

Maybe she should give the panther a chance after all.

In that precise moment something crashed into the room through the roof.

Each of the girls were startled by what fell from above, leaving a huge hole in the ceiling, as he wore nothing more than little, red, tight pants, Alvar was lying flatly face down on the floor surrounded by debris, broken pieces of wood and settling dust.

He jumped to his feet, placed his fists on his hips, his breaths were fast, and smiled naughtily to the striped feline.

She on the other hand looked taken aback by what had just occurred, "Alvar, what did you do?"

The panther pointed out the window, all the way down in the valley, "The catapult was supposed to shoot me through the window but I miscalculated!"

She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked directly into his eyes, "You're going to fix this!"

Unexpectedly, the panther grabbed her by _her_ shoulder and pushed her on a chair.

"Not before I give you your gift!"

She huffed, "Then what is it?"

Then he started to dance in a slow sexual manner as he crouched and showed off his body in front of her, especially his derriere. What truly seemed to bother Tigress was the pelvic thrusts because they were as arousing as his physique.

_What were his cons again?_ She thought as he teased her by pulling down a bit his pants.

The other ladies were watching the dancing male. "Take it off, hot stuff!" That came from Wen.

The female tiger was turned on by the display but she had to back away from the panther somehow. In desperate attempt to not let her hormones and impulses take over her, she kicked the dark feline in the groin.

The panther of course, fell on the ground, grasping his crotch, in utter pain.

Tigress got up from the chair, "I have to, uh, train." She exited the room with no further words.

"Are you alright? You'll have to forgive her she-" Viper didn't finished her sentence because the panther jumped up to his feet.

"What a woman!"

_That kick must have done more damage than it seemed_. The serpent thought.

"So feisty!" The unaccented voiced feline said with admiration towards the woman he craved.

Viper shook her head, feeling pity for the man in front of her. He wanted something that she knew he couldn't attain.

"You'll need help if you want to seduce Tigress and I don't mean ordinary help, you'll need a miracle."

At that moment Wen remembered someone from her past. "Actually, I think I know someone who may be of help."

* * *

The two teenage lovers had snuck out, away from the eyes of others into alone time with each other in the middle of the night but making sure to return to the Jade Palace before anyone noticed their disappearance.

And where exactly did they ran off to?

The Pool of Sacred Tears.

Of course, it was very dark that neither of them could see anything in front of them, even for two cats, luckily, Arc didn't need his vision in order to see where he is going thanks to his strong tactile senses every time he takes a step, but he couldn't leave Naki defenseless in the dark so he brought an oil lamp for her safety and comfort.

"We're here!" The archeologist said once they reached their destination.

"You are not going to skinny dip in this freezing water?" Naki asked him. She feared that he might get a cold if he tried to swim in the water.

The lion held up a finger and closed his eyes, "Actually, the water is warmer during night time because the sun heated it during the day, and it is cold during day time because it loses the warmth through the night."

Naki dipped the tip of her toes in the water and he was right about the water's temperature.

"I'm guessing you're going for a dip?" She asked once more.

Arc sat down, "No, tonight I want to spend it by your side!"

The lion placed the lamp on the ground then a basket he had brought and unloaded its contents: a sealed bowl of the Secret Ingredient Soup.

"_She_ made that?" The lioness asked as she took a whiff of the meal.

Arc knew who Naki was referring to: Frankie, "Yeah, in fact, her date with Lan Se went so well she's been cooking nonstop and people have said that the food at the noodle shop has never tasted better… it's impossible to enter without a reservation now because of the swarms of sweaty customer always coming back to eat."

"Then how did you manage to get this bowl?"

"She returned to the Jade Palace after Ping closed the shop for the night with a pot full of leftover soup." The male lion explained.

Tia Ra had told her about the rabbit chef.

"I've heard that she has her own trademark soup, my mother told me about it when Frankie made the dish for her and father on their anniversary, three weeks later they announced they were expecting another baby, but I've never been able to taste the soup."

Arc then added, "The Red Rose Petal Soup. Lan Se told me that it was a meal worthy for the Gods themselves."

"Maybe I could get some of that soup for our next date!" She said it with a certain glint in her eyes.

The lion opened the lid on the bowl and hot steam came out.

"Did you heat it before we snuck out?" She asked him.

"No, it was still hot when Frankie brought it, and I was thinking of starting a small fire to heat it but since there is no need for that anymore I was thinking that we should just dig in."

"How did it stay warm for so long?"

Arc scratch his head looking at the soup blankly, "Well Frankie did cook it and she's the best there is when it comes to food!"

"True, maybe she added a special ingredient that keeps it that way."

Little did they know that Frankie had cooked it while thinking of doing certain unholy things with her favorite cheetah.

Arc served a bowl and sampled the soup from it. "Mmm, taste really good, you need to try it!"

She reached for the bowl on his hand and took it to sample the soup.

"You don't want your own bowl?" Arc asked as she leaned to taste the delicacy.

"It's okay, I don't mind catching your cooties!" She joked

Arc's eyes widened in shock. _Oh no, how did she find out about my cooties?_

Naki took a sip of the soup and took a deep breaths afterwards as the flavor took over her senses, "It's more than good, this is fantastic!"

"I know, right?"

All of a sudden, the lion felt warm, despite the chilly night, and so he removed his shirt. The male removing clothing wasn't a surprise to the lioness but what did surprise her was the sudden warm feeling that crept inside of her body.

How she wished she could remove a piece of clothing just to chill a bit but she couldn't, her boyfriend was beside her. She looked at Arc, who looked as handsome as ever, especially shirtless, seemed to try to cool off as well as he arched his back to let the breeze refresh him.

She suddenly felt an urge upon looking at the lion, she remembered how he looked like completely nude, and she did enjoy the view. Naki didn't know what was happening to her but she allowed her body to respond on impulse.

The lioness threw herself on top of the male, pressing her lips against his and running her hands along his pectorals. Arc didn't even react; he just laid there until Naki pulled herself apart from his face.

"Wow… I didn't thought you could be so… ferocious!" The male said in admiration.

She smiled down at him and ran her fingers down from his chest to his abdomen, feeling the muscle, it made him purr, and she liked knowing that she was causing such a reaction on him.

"You want to go for a swim?" Surprisingly, it wasn't Arc the one who asked.

"Sure!" He happily answered as he undid his pants but he was surprised to see what his girlfriend did next.

Naki took the lamp to light better the sight of her boyfriend in front of her and then, with a smirk, she blew the flame off. But that wasn't what surprised Arc, no, it was the fact that in the darkness of the night he could only see the silhouette of the lioness. She took her clothing off as well, the moonlight marking out her body.

Arc just stared blankly, with his jaw a bit open, at her beautiful silhouette. Of course, he was turned on; his beautiful girlfriend was nude right in front of him, even if he couldn't enjoy the view because of the darkness.

The lion stood up as the lioness helped him to his feet and that only lead to Arc getting pushed into the water.

"This is for pulling you into the Moon Pool, isn't it?"

"Maybe."

Naki then stepped into the water, which wasn't even cold, like Arc said, and embraced the lion, who did his best to give his girlfriend enough space so as not to touch her in an inappropriate place.

"Arc, you can hug me back." Her voice soft and alluring.

That surprised him, "You don't mind?"

"Not at all!" She stepped closer to him, "Besides, you have touched my butt plenty of times when we were making out!"

_True_. Arc thought before what he did next.

"Well since you don't mind!" After confirming it, he threw himself at the lioness and kissed her passionately.

Everything felt so hot to them that they needed to purge this thirst between them. It was such a strong need for each other that the water began getting hotter and hotter until bubbles began to rise.

"Naki, I swear I didn't pee in the water!"

* * *

"Viper, what are you eating with?" Crane asked the serpent as he noticed what she was holding with her coils.

"Remember when Frankie stabbed me with that small trident?"

"She uses it to eat food with it." Crane nodded as did remember seeing the rabbit eat with the utensil.

"Did you know that they were invented here in China?" Viper then added.

The bird smiled embarrassingly, "I did, or at least I didn't until…"

"Until Arc told you!" She finished his statement. Knowing fully well what he was going to say.

"I'm guessing he informed you about it and gave you a short history lesson?"

"Oh yeah!" She chuckled lightly. Apparently, she wasn't the only one the archeologist was teaching, "How is it that someone like him can be so intelligent and yet so, so…"

"Airheaded?" He finished, this time, her sentence, "Beats me, but I guess if Po can be the Dragon Warrior, Arc can be the smartest student at the Jade Palace."

Viper smiled as she took a moment to remember every funfilled moment they've all had ever since the lion moved in the Jade Palace, but then her face displayed a tiny frown, "You know, I feel like we haven't exactly given him the chance to tell us about himself, I don't even know how old he is or where he came from."

That last part surprised him, "Really? Naki doesn't speak about him to you or Tigress?"

She shook her head, "Just how much she likes him and how she adores the time they spend together. What do _you_ know about him?"

"Other than he's a constant nudist?" That earned a laugh from the serpent, "Well, I think I once overheard him talking to Zai that he was going to take him on a pilgrimage or so I think that's what he said."

"A pilgrimage? Does Shifu know?"

"Maybe, I don't know."

"How much trouble do you think Arc will get if he doesn't have Shifu's permission?"

Then someone talked from behind them, "If I don't have Shifu's permission for what?"

"Oh Arc, you're here!" Viper sounded more surprised than what she would have liked.

"Uh, yeah." He responded with a blank face. _What was going on before I entered the kitchen?_ "Were the both of you talking about me? Was it bad things about me?"

Now the lion looked saddened.

The avian was the one to lighten the lion's sudden sad mood, "Oh no, we were just saying how much time it has been since you arrived and we barely know anything about you."

"Oh," The lion looked at both of them confused, "Then you should try and get to know me better."

"We were hoping you would open up to us." Viper explained.

"What do you want to know?" Arc asked them, still a bit confused.

"Anything that you feel you can share with us." Crane said.

"I masturbate a lot!" The lion responded.

"Um." Truly there were no words Viper could come up with after that.

Crane tried to explain what they both meant to say. "Uh, we didn't meant tha-" He was interrupted by the lion.

"You two wanted to know about how much I jack off? You guys are so weird!"

Arc chose that moment pick up an apple, with his foot, and gave it a bite.

Both Viper and Crane said in unison, "Yeah, weird."

* * *

The students of the Jade Palace were invited to watch a play based on the adventures of the Furious Five. It was being held in the central square of the valley so it was a public event.

After a while it was enjoyable to see the lookalike actors portray them, especially the spot on portrayal of Tigress from the actress who resembled in every physical aspect.

"I've heard of her, she's new in the world of acting and theater but her acting skills were praised for her portrayal of Vivian Ward in that drama that I begged all of you to go but no one wanted." Viper explained to everyone as she happened to be a fan of the theater.

"Oh, that's her?" Tigress said sounding surprised. They've all heard of her but know one knew that the actress resembled the leader of the Furious Five so much when it came to looks.

Viper nodded, "That's her, and if you think that her resemblance to you is kind of creepy, you should know that her name is Tigerizza."

"That's… creepy." Was all that came out of Tigress' mouth.

But what truly disturbed them all was what came at the end of the second act, after the furious five had faced off against Tai Lung, the whole scene was a dance between all the actors, choreographed like a battle, where the actress portraying Tigress and the actor playing the snow leopard looked astonishingly like the presumed dead feline were eyeing each other with killer glares.

"Who's he?" Tai Lung asked the serpent.

"He's also new in the world of theater but they call him 'Tye'."

"He looks just like… _him_." Tigress didn't need to say names, they knew what she meant.

"Yeah, I know." Mantis agreed and then added a bit bitterly, "I wish I could say the same about the actors portraying the rest of us."

The second Crane, Monkey, Viper and Mantis laid eyes on the overweight actors portraying them they wanted to hide their faces, especially since they were made a laughingstock in the play, either being clumsy or dumb, or both. Moment such as that included them tripping over, saying random lines, sometime in a goofy fashion, and, of course, being stupid when someone talked to them.

Tai Lung who heard them all talk about him, or at least his adult self, snapped at them, "Now don't be jealous just because the actor is devilishly good-looking!"

_Must be a snow leopard thing_. Was what everyone thought when they heard the boy's comment.

Again, the worst part came in the scene after Tai Lung fought the Furious Five, only he and Tigress stood, glaring at each other until they both wrapped their arms around the other and kissed fiercely.

But that wasn't the only thing that made everyone's jaw drop. It was what came next.

"I love you, Tai Lung!" The actress playing Tigress said to Tye and he responded with a similar answer, "I love you too!"

This couldn't get worse for the leader of the Furious Five who was dying of mortification. Tai Lung was laughing hard as he saw the ridiculous scenario. _Now that is hilarious, encore! What could possibly make this better?_

A certain panther walked in to the crowd of people observing the play.

"I'm telling you, Tigress won't resist me after she sees how fit I have gotten." Alvar said to his always-by-his-side companion (literally).

Xovius sighed in defeat and gave his friend a warm smile, "Fine, if you really like this girl so much I will let you pursue her without my concern."

Alvar felt so happy to know he had his pals good grace on his side, "Thanks. If only Tigress was here to enjoy this play-ay-ay-eeee!" He trailed off in a squeaky voice as he stared with shock and horror at the center of the crowd.

"The hells wrong with you?" Xovius asked.

The panther pointed to the stage where he spotted Tigress making out with a buffed snow leopard.

"That slut, I knew she was no good for you!" Xovius angrily retorted.

The panther then ran up the stage and got between the two actors kissing.

It was Alvar who spoke near in tears, "Tigress, how could you do this to me? I thought you loved me?"

The real Tigress felt like she would die of embarrassment when she saw the panther on stage. "Oh Gods, no, not him!"

The unaccented voiced panther then turned his attention to the snow leopard, "And you, how dare you kiss my woman!"

"I was acting, it wasn't real." The actor tried to explain as he backed away from the infuriated feline.

Xovius then spoke in anger towards the snow leopard, even though, if it was very contradictory to him, "Look at that, he's only wants a thrill out of making out with your gal! I'll hold him while you kick his ass!"

Before the panther could throw a punch at the frightened actor, the real leader of the Furious Five stepped on stage and stopped the enraged dark feline.

"Two Tigress'?" Alvar said as he looked from one striped cat to the other, "You have a sister?"

"No you dumbass, this is a play, it's all fake, these people are actors!" She yelled out in anger. People could swear they felt the ground quiver.

"Oh…" Alvar then looked at the crowd of people who were shocked by what just happened in front of them, "So are you free tomorrow night?"

* * *

Gongju laid asleep on his warm bed inside of the very house he and his team members build. The paraplegic snow leopard looked so peaceful with the blissful smile he had as he slumbered.

Tai Lung stood right next to the sleeping boy. He wished the answers he was looking for would just appear for him and now Gongju had appeared, maybe this child had or was the answers he was looking for so desperately; maybe Gongju truly was Lei.

He looked at the nine year old boy, sound asleep and readjusted his blanket, covering his exposed shoulder to the cold of the night.

Before he left the room out the open window he entered earlier, Tai Lung kissed the sleeping child's forehead.

"Good night, Lei." He whispered.

He was about to jump out the window and go back to the Jade Palace before anyone noticed he was gone but a voice from behind stopped him.

"If it weren't for the fact that you're smaller than Gongju, I would have thought his legs were working perfectly."

Tai Lung turned around and noticed Wen standing at the doorway.

"Uh, how much did you see… and how much did you hear?" Tai Lung feared that he might have jeopardized his whole plan.

"Plenty." Was the only answer the vixen gave.

She then gestured the snow leopard to follow her out of the room and told him to be quiet, not wishing to awake her brother and friends.

He didn't know what to do or say, Tai Lung just followed the vixen to a lobby that was decorated by architectural details everywhere.

_Damn, I know they can build and fix things in a masterful way but this is beyond that!_

"You want something to drink?" Wen asked the boy.

"No thank you."

"Too bad, I already served you!"

"So, you want to talk to me?" Tai Lung wanted to know the reason for this tea time.

She sat down, sipped tea from her own cup and spoke in a calm manner, "The safety of Ralix, Penpal and Gongju, and Arc if he had joined us years ago, are the reason why I joined their team, my post in the Workshop is the bodyguard, or the babysitter, and I will not let anything happen to _them_ while I'm around."

He's heard of her fighting abilities, thanks to Arc, and that she doesn't allow anyone, who wants to harm the younger members of her team, get near enough to even blow air on them.

She continued after taking another sip, "You seem to like being around Gongju, and seeing you kiss his forehead makes me think that you might be getting too involved in his life. But I think I know why you like him so much, there aren't any snow leopard around these parts and seeing that there's another like you must make you feel like there is someone who knows you, huh?"

_You're only half right_. "You're exactly right; I just wish I could get to know him better so I can find out certain... things."

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, Gongju doesn't say much about himself, the only person he truly opens up to is with Ralix, but my little brother would never reveal his secrets."

"I suggest, that if you want him to be a part of your life, you need to get to know him." Wen actually wanted to help him.

_Maybe she did hear me say things too revealing._

"But he's so…" Tai Lung didn't know how to put it. Whenever he tried to have a conversation with the crippled child, Gongju seemed to find a way to evade his questions.

"Difficult to talk to?" She looked at him knowingly, "Your best friend is Arc, and you're actually saying that someone else is difficult to talk to!" She was smiling out of bemusement.

_Touché!_ "Well, what do you suggest?"

"We're going to build a fruit stand for that poor old grocery store owner tomorrow. You could help us out."

Tai Lung sighed, "I know nothing of building or fixing crap."

"That never stopped us from trying anyway, and look at all the things we were able to build now."

He breathed in and out, "Fine, tomorrow I'll come by to help you out."

She took one last sip of her tea, "It'll be much appreciated."

Tai Lung drank his in one sip, "It's getting late and I don't want Shifu to notice I'm missing."

"Oh, you're a little rebel? That's nice."

"Right, I'll be leaving now." He said it a bit uncomfortable being in that house any longer, mostly because he was caught by someone and that person might very well know his secret.

He stood up and left through the front door this time.

"Goodnight." Wen called out to him.

She looked at the boy go back to his home as she eyed him suspiciously. _Gongju was right about him afterall._

* * *

It's been months and people's bidding and gossip had piped down, to Shifu's relief, and that was the good news. The bad news, there have been some disturbances on nearby provinces which ended in many being slaughtered.

The cause for these disturbances was unknown and not much was known about them to begin with, but the old master had demanded to know what happened there because surely if it happened so close to the valley sooner or later that problem will reach them eventually.

The old master closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Surely, he needed to investigate the situation before sending a single one of his students there but time was essential.

He opened his eyes and jumped back a little at being startled by discovering a certain lion standing in front of him.

"Shifu, there you are!"

"What is it, Arc? And is it too hard to call me by Master?"

"I'm not a genie that grants wishes, silly!" The lion responded chuckling under his breath, "I want you to try these. Every villager has at least given them a bite."

The red panda eyed the crispy orbs, then he looked at Arc who was giving him a grin, feeling that there was no harm in sampling one, Shifu took a fried ball and gave it a bite, his reaction to it was surprising, to say the least.

Shifu's eyes dilated as he stayed entirely still for a few seconds at the wondrous taste. _When was the last time I ate fast food?_

"Arc these are amazing!" He took another, gave it a bite and swallowed, "What are they?"

"They're Mr. Ping's Tastycles."

Shifu's eyes shot wide open. He looked down at the half-eaten ball in his hand and started spitting out chewed up, mushy pieces.

"What the hell did you feed me?" The red panda shrieked out, hoping that it wasn't what he thought they were.

"Mr. Ping said he'd been wanting you to taste them for a while now, for you to slobber at the sight of them, and he couldn't wait any longer so I told him that I would bring you his deep-fried Tastycles, and I did." Arc explained.

The red panda just stared back at the lion in shear horror as he took a step back. _He didn't neuter Ping, and other unfortunate men, and served them to me deep fried, could he?_

The lion smiled and showed the old master the goose's newest dish: the cylindrical version of the deep-fried orbs, "If you like those I know you'll enjoy Mr. Ping's Wieners!"

_There is something I'm not getting, am I?_ "Arc, you said you were going to help me better my relationship with Xue Zai."

Arc now looked apologetic, "Ooh, I completely forgot about that, you know with me hanging out with my friends I guess I forgot about helping you!" But then he smiled once more, "But don't worry I'll help you!"

"How?" The red panda asked as his ears drooped down. He was desperate to know how to make his son love him back.

"Just follow my instruction and I guaranty you that everything will turn out for the better."

* * *

Winter was around the corner, the air was cooler than usual, nights were beginning to be colder and longer and pretty soon it would snow, that was for sure.

It was still morning and Tai Lung and Arc were both staring down at the valley as they sat at the top step of the stairs of the Jade Mountain.

So much had occurred, it was almost overwhelming. They both had learned new things about each other as well as the new people around them.

But Tai Lung wasn't satisfied with that. He still wanted to know more about a certain topic that was bothering him more than anything lately.

"Arc," he waited for the lion to give him his attention, "Why did you left your friends those years ago, and I mean the real reason?"

"But I did tell you the real reason." The archeologist responded him.

"That's bullshit and you know it. You said you wanted to go on adventures and explore the world but that is exactly what your friends have been doing! What are you hiding?"

The lion didn't even meet the boy's eyes when he spoke.

"Because… it's my fault that Gongju is in a wheelchair."

Tai Lung just stared back at the lion, who, to Tai Lung's surprise, was trying to hide his face from the cub's eyes, too ashamed to even look at his friend.

The snow leopard held the bigger cat's paw and squeezed it gently.

"Arc," He once again waited for the lion to give him his attention before he spoke again, "Tell me what happened, how did you met the Workshop and how did Gongju end up on a wheelchair?"

Arc was silent, his face still displayed pain and sorrow, then he looked behind him at the door of the gate for a few seconds and then at the cub looking up to meet him in the eyes.

He sighed, "Alright, I guess you have a right to know."

The lion began to tell the snow leopard his story about how he met the member of the Workshop.

"It all began five years ago… here, in the Valley of Peace."

* * *

A/N: That's life in the valley. I hope Arc didn't gross out a lot of you with his food naming advertisement. What would happen if Arc wasn't so clueless and realized that the things he says can have odd reactions from others?

Just so everyone is clear, Tigerizza and Travis are both characters from another story called "Love on Set" by Tigerizza (the author), it's an interesting and humorous love story, and yes, I had the author's permission to use her characters.

The vignette where Tai Lung wants love from Jun Ma is an ode to an old story, which I thought would go well with my story. People, Vivian Ward is the name of the character that Julia Roberts played in Pretty Woman.

Next chapter will be the story of how Arc and the members of the Workshop met and their first adventure together. That's it for now, eat plenty of Tastycles!


	17. Mister Dragon Tattoo

Sorry this update took forever. Time to learn more about Arc's past as well as the members of the Workshop.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda blah, blah, blah. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 17: Mister Dragon Tattoo

* * *

The grass was moist from the early dew of the mountain, a few villagers were still asleep and the morning gong hadn't even rang yet, but none of that mattered at the moment as the snow leopard cub sat next to the lion telling him his story about how he met the members of the Workshop and the events that came afterwards.

"You met them here in this valley?" Tai Lung asked the lion beside him.

Arc nodded and continued telling his story as he looked at the rising sun in the far horizon remembering the events that changed his life.

"I still remember our adventure like if it was yesterday…"

* * *

_Five Years Ago…_

"I keep telling you, the Patient One is a living boy not a ghost!"

"I don't even believe in ghosts."

"So you believe me?"

The man just walked away.

"At least leave a tip." Ping cried out to the now leaving customer, "What a lousy tipper!" He then looked up to his son working alongside him in the kitchen with hopefulness, "What about you Po, do you believe me?"

"Well, I, uh, in the circumstances there is a chance that maybe, what I'm trying to say," The panda's face displayed a cheeky grin as he tried to hide the truth but he knew he wasn't going to get away with it, "Um, no."

The goose huffed in annoyance, his own son didn't believe him, and started to chop vegetables for the incoming orders. "You would believe me if I said he did kung fu!"

Po's enthusiasm went from zero to sixty as soon as he heard the magic words escape from Ping's beak, "Wait, he did, that's awesome!"

"No, Po, he didn't." Ping said with a careless tone.

The panda now grumbled in annoyance, "Dad, don't lie to me about kung fu, you know I'll believe anything about it!"

The goose sighed heavily in defeat. No one seemed to believe him that he had approached the locally famous Patient One and discovered that the child is really alive. "Someone should really throw a searching party for that little boy in that creepy forest."

"What's a search party?" Said the voice of a child coming from the front of the counter.

Mr. Ping stopped what he was doing and looked around the dinning yard looking for the source of the voice, "Who's there?"

"Is it a party where everyone goes on a scavenger hunt?" This time the voice sounded closer.

Mr. Ping almost jumped in surprised as the voice came from his side. He looked to his left and saw standing next to him a ten year old, nearly eleven, light brown furred lion cub, with a white spot on both his eyelids and a unique black birthmark, shaped like a crescent, beneath his left eye, with armor plates pressed against both of his arms, covering them entirely, wearing nothing more, except the armor and a _dou li_, rucksack shorts. Of course, his head didn't display a mane, or a sign of it, yet, but his conical hat hid most of the top of his head.

The goose realized that the boy was the one talking to him and answered the feline's question, "Oh no, it's not that kind of party." He then realized that the child was in his restaurant for a reason, "Would you like to buy some noodles?"

The boy smiled happily, "Okay, put some onions, honey, tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, whipped cream and an old sock, I've hear they are tasty and nutritious!"

The goose just looked at the child a little confused but amused as well, "I'm not sure if we have those ingredients but you would actually eat something like _that_?"

"If it has whipped cream on it, it becomes edible!" The lion answered.

"How about if I just make some plain noodles, they're good and come in a reasonable price?"

"I don't have any yuan…" The boy replied.

Ping's expression fell, "Well, I guess I can give you…"

"I only have this gold nugget I found, will that do?"

"Sure it will!" Ping took the golden stone excitedly as he hopped in one place, "Po, prepare an extra special order of noodles for a very special client!"

"On it, dad."

* * *

"Arc, I don't want to know anything that isn't important." Tai Lung said, breaking the lion from his story and reverie.

"But it is important." The older feline protested.

"Just skip to when you meet one of the members of the Workshop."

The lion sighed, "Alright, but you won't hear about the conga line and the dancing cactus." Arc took a deep breath and tried to remember what occurred next all those years ago but his mind went someplace else, "Speaking of the Workshop, shouldn't we get to them before they begin without us?"

That's right, he had forgotten. The snow leopard wasn't going to break a promise and risk looking bad in the eyes of the possible Lei, "Just keep telling me your story as we go along."

In that same moment Monkey and Po walked right passed them and descended down the steps but Tai Lung heard what they were both conversing about and it bothered him a bit.

"Master Shifu said that he is going to send us to investigate the nearby province, he heard that there have been disturbances over there." Monkey had told the panda right before they were out of earshot.

He could have gone up to the two males but he had more important matters at hand. Arc wasn't done telling his story, so he listened to the rest of it.

The lion continued where the cub told him to, when he met with the first member of the Workshop, a day that changed his life forever, "Well, about a day later…"

* * *

_Five years minus one day ago._

Near the outskirts of the Valley of Peace, in the middle of a forest, were tents erected beneath the shade of trees with their host either sleeping inside of them or lying boorishly next to them and far off to them was a raccoon looking down on pieces of paper being written on by a snow leopard child.

"There will be at least two scores of heavily armed guards on watch duty, how do you plan to pull this off?" The raccoon said to the boy sounding very concerned.

The boy smiled in return and answered him, "There's a tunnel that leads straight to the center of the building, it's located about a mile away but it's worth it, and once inside take out the head of the security guards and order the rest of his men to move out, leaving me and the rest of the team a clear path to enter."

The raccoon smirked. He knew he had chosen well to pick the boy to be part of his team.

"Impressive." He replied nodding in amazement to the child's brilliance, "But we are going to need a way to disable the advanced security system in the inner area."

"It will take specialized reinforcement that will not trigger any trap or alarm." The young feline replied matter-of-factly.

"But who is capable of such feats?" The raccoon asked again but this time the boy had no answer just a big silent pause between them as they thought of a solution.

As the moment passed they soon heard someone's voice not far from them.

"Ooh, someone left a tasty orange all alone!"

They turned their attention to a lion that was going through their practice obstacle course and he did it without triggering a single trap by summersaulting, sliding on the ground to avoid the triggers and flipping in the air until he reached the very center where the fruit was located.

"Hey, you!" The raccoon cried out to the lion.

Arc, who was starting to peel the orange by spinning it on the tip of his claw and shredding the covering by slowly running another one of his razor sharp nails down the fruit, looked at the raccoon with a blank expression on his face and sat down but answered either way, "Yeah, can I help you with something?" A quick pause. "Sorry but I'm not going to share my orange!"

The raccoon placed a hand on the child's shoulder, "Forget the orange! What you just did is exactly what we need!"

A blank stare on the cat's face, "You mean how I peeled it so easily?"

The raccoon corrected him, "No, how you made it all the way across the obstacle course untouched and you didn't even trigger the booby-traps!"

The lion scowled at hearing the name of his enemy, "I hate booby-traps, I don't care that they have the word 'booby' in them, they cause nothing but trouble, so I've trained myself to avoid them at all cost!"

"We could use someone like you on our team!" This came from the little snow leopard, who looked enthusiastic about the lion joining their ranks.

The bigger feline looked at the smaller one and asked away, "Really? What's the team about?"

* * *

"So you met Gongju and the thieves because of an orange?" Tai Lung asked the teenager walking beside him.

"Pretty much and it was one of the best oranges I ever tasted!"

They were now in the market place where the people were just as busy as ever. The lion continued telling his story as they turned to the eastern area of the village.

"The whole day was spent by questions like: if I have ever worked for someone else or what other abilities do I possess?"

"Sounds to me like you made a good first impression!" Tai Lung added.

Arc smiled, "I sure did, and Gongju was just as impressed as he always looked at me with big eyes full of amazement!"

Still, Tai Lung wanted to know more, "What exactly were they planning anyway and how come a four year old cub came up with the plan?"

The lion wrapped an arm around the younger cat's neck as he dropped on the floor to reach the boy's level and answered the question as he stretched his arm out and opened his palm flat and moved it across his front view, "The Heist of the Century!"

* * *

_Back to the day Arc met Gongju_

The raccoon had introduced himself as Kuro and the rest of his team mates to his new member. The others who composed the group of thieves, an entire hoard of gypsies, were pretty friendly for individuals who seek trouble with the law. But who truly grabbed the lion boy's attention was the little snow leopard cub working on metal scraps laid on a table covered with blueprints and maps.

Of course, the lion didn't waste time introducing himself, "Hi, my name is Arc, it's short for Archeologist!"

The snow leopard boy introduced himself as well, "Pleased to meet you!"

"What are you doing with that?" Arc asked with curiosity as he noticed the tools the smaller feline was using at the moment.

Gongju answered his question plainly without removing his gaze from his work, "Explosives."

* * *

"Holy shit, he makes bombs?!" Tai Lung broke the lion's story once again with an incredulous tone in his voice.

It really shouldn't have surprised him, especially, after seeing what the cub is capable of making, but still, _explosions_!

_Why would he need to make explosives? _He thought to himself.

Arc nodded, "And much more!"

Tai Lung knew he was going to find out exactly what the archeologist meant by that and continued to listen the lion tell his story.

* * *

_Five years minus three days ago._

As it turned out, Gongju devised the plans for the team but also the gadgets, equipment, weapons and led the team along the way. He was basically the leader except that was Kuro's job but the raccoon needed someone in his team who could think on the spot and be the brains of the whole operation.

"So what are we planning to steal?" The archeologist finally asked the snow leopard after realizing that he had no clue what the purpose of the team he had joined was.

"Something that was taken from Kuro unfairly, something that meant a lot to him." Gongju explained.

"Then why doesn't he just go and get it?" The lion said out of pure innocence.

"It's being held inside of a maximum security fortress. Kuro told his team he was going to need more help to pull this off so he came here in the hopes that a kung fu warrior could join him but he stumbled upon me, literally!"

Then the snow leopard told the lion about what led to the raccoon to take the boy in. "He was impressed with my intellect and building expertise!"

"How many members does he still need?"

"Only if he, or I, think it is necessary to add more." The cub explained.

"And this fortress, where is it located, maybe it's some place I know?" Arc thought he could come even more useful if it was in a location he knew well enough.

"In The Underground, in the city of Bricks." The cub said it with a raised eyebrow. He needed to know if the lion knew about the hidden world.

"The one with the brick factory and insane asylum?" Arc asked just to make sure if the snow leopard was referring to the place he had in mind.

"Yup!" Gongju felt relieved that the new recruit was well aware of the secret contained beneath their feet.

"Darn, I haven't been there yet!" Arc whined as his shoulders slumped.

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" Gongju said trying to cheer up the other cat.

Then they heard yelling not far from where they were.

The two young felines ran to Kuro who was watching one of his brawny bovine lookouts, Iwa. They also stared in confusion at the bull holding two children struggling to free themselves.

"Kuro, I thought you said we weren't supposed to bring attention to ourselves?" Gongju said in the hopes that the bull would be reprimanded by the raccoon for getting innocent civilians into their problems.

"I caught these two spying on us." Iwa said, struggling to keep the two children in his grasp until the vixen being held by his right arm spoke.

"We weren't spying, we were just looking around the village, saw this camp, explored around it and then you grabbed us!"

"Well he kicked me!" Iwa snapped back.

"Because you grabbed us!" The smaller and younger male fox in his left snapped back to the bull.

"Well it hurt!" Iwa blurted out.

"What do you want? An apology blowjob? Let us go!" The vixen cried out.

He let go of the rambunctious foxes. The two fell on their rumps.

Kuro grumbled as he let out a sigh of frustration, "Great, now what am I going to do with you two?"

"Let us go?" The little fox boy offered.

The raccoon shook his head, "Can't do that."

"What about their parents, I'm sure they'll come looking for them?" Iwa asked.

"Our rents never look after us, they're probably drinking their hearts out." The vixen said carelessly.

"They wouldn't notice if we were gone." The little fox boy added bitterly.

In that moment Gongju came up with an idea, "Kuro, if you don't want to run the risk of them telling about our whereabouts and what we are up to, you can let them help us out pull off the heist."

The two fox children looked at each other and blink simultaneously, "Heist?"

"It's either that or we'll have to kill you two!" Arc added without thinking.

"Arc!" Gongju snapped at the lion.

"What? You weren't going to say that?" The lion looked blankly at the cub as he scratched his head.

The vixen spoke up trying to reason with them, "Listen, whatever, we'll go with you, maybe our parents will finally notice us if we're gone!"

The lion ran up to the two foxes still in Iwa's possession, "Yay, hi, my name is Arc, it's short for Archeologist!"

"Wen." She shook the lion's paw but in a reserved manner.

"And I'm your boy Ralix!" Said the little fox boy being held upside down as the bull grasped him by the leg.

Kuro interrupted the greetings, "First things first, what can you two do that's necessary for this team?"

The female fox was the first one to tell him about her talents, "I've been trained in self-defence, it's the only thing my dad pays for."

Then it was Ralix's turn, "I know how to pick locks on people's house!"

"That could come in handy!" Gongju expressed to the raccoon and that was all that Kuro needed to hear.

"Then it's settled; welcome to the team, Wen and Ralix!"

The next days were spent planning out the whole operation and preparing the equipment and provisions for the trip to the fortress.

"Watcha got there, 'Gong-man'?" Ralix asked Gongju after a long day of doing nothing.

"Making some grappling hooks… for climbing up walls." The feline answered never taking his eyes away from his work.

"Ya know what ya need to do is lay back a little and stop working so hard." The fox said it as he swiped the device the cat was making.

"Give that back if I'm not working then what am I supposed to do?"

"Have fun!" Was the fox's simple answer.

Gongju grunted. The fox had been getting on his nerves the last few days. As it turned out, Ralix was too loud and impulsive for his taste, fortunately, his sister puts her little brother in his place pretty quickly.

Thankfully, the snow leopard was mature for his age and is able to ignore Ralix and his certain bitchy moments.

The day of their departure finally came and Kuro was waiting for his team to gather.

The only ones who were missing were the very same children.

"Wake up everyone, we're already late!" Gongju cried out to the sleeping foxes.

"Kuro wouldn't leave us behind, would he?" Wen wondered out loud.

"Arc, are you ready? We need to meet with-" Gongju stopped short as the lion cut in.

"Here!" Arc said happily as he stood next to the other kids.

Three children looked at the lion, and then looked down. Arc was naked safe for his hat and armor.

"Put some clothes on you little freak!" Wen cried out as she shielded her eyes from Arc's naked glory.

"Bro, what the heck!" Ralix was chuckling at the sight before him and his sister's discomfort.

Gongju was the only one mature enough to speak properly, "Um, Arc, what happened to your pants?"

The lion happily answered, "It's a lovely morning, so warm and fresh!" Saying that, the lion happily stretched his arms in the air and his body as well, hearing a few bones crackle, much to his companion's discomfort, except Ralix who just laughed away in mirth.

Gongju gave a small smile and shook his head slowly, "I have a feeling that he will do this very often."

* * *

"So you were a shameless guy all your life." Tai Lung said smiling with conviction.

"Is that good?" The lion asked him with that usual cluelessness of his.

Tai Lung opened his mouth to answer but stopped, looked away and changed his expression to a serious one, "Yeah, no one could ever hurt you," he looked into the distance, "emotionally, that is."

Maybe that was the reason why the lion always seemed to be so happy. He didn't let other people's opinion about him deter him in any way. _But maybe it's because he has no idea that they think that about him to begin with!_ He chuckled at the thought.

The lion placed a paw on the smaller cat's shoulder.

They were still heading for the eastern area of the valley when they noticed Shifu helping Gongju by pushing his wheelchair forward.

"Thank you again, Gongju, for fixing the roof an unintelligent panther broke through." The red panda said in gratitude to the child. He was intrigued by the snow leopard, other than the fact that he resembles Xue Zai, he reminds him even more of someone he used to know and somehow felt at peace around the crippled boy.

"It was my pleasure, Master Shifu." The boy said respectfully to the old master as he bowed properly to him.

The red panda smiled and nodded at the boy, "Is there any way I can repay you?"

The boy looked at the old man with an inquisitive look, Well..." The boy reached for the red panda's ears and grabbed them, "I do want to feel these!"

The red panda chuckled as the boy ran his paws up and down his ears but pulled apart from his reach when he looked down the street and saw his son and his abnormal student, "Ah, Xue Zai, Arc, what brings the two of you here?"

"We're going to help the Workshop build a bridge for the eastern farmers." Arc answered.

"I thought they had already done that." The old master wondered out loud as he stroked his beard.

Gongju happily explained, "We did but some dummy decided to do some adjustments to it afterwards, made it unstable and the whole thing fell apart."

"How unfortunate!" Master Shifu said to the child in the wheelchair. He knew there was no way it was easy to build a bridge let alone for a handicapped youngster and it bothered him that this kind-hearted boy had to begin from scratch once again.

Gongju shook his head in bemusement, "Not really; building it is the fun part!"

Then the red panda ruffled gently the top of the leopard's head, earning some giggles in return.

"Get your filthy midget hands off of him!"

They both looked at the angry four year old snow leopard striding forward to them.

"I said keep your hands to yourself!" Tai Lung yelled as he harshly pushed the red panda away from the older snow leopard.

That was Shifu's last straw, "I have had it up to here with this attitude of yours, Xue Zai! You are marching up those steps and spend the rest of the day in your room!"

"Fine, just don't you ever touch him again!" The cub yelled back.

Gongju knew where this was heading and decided to bring peace by cutting in between the arguing people, "Um, I guess it would be a good time to go fix up that bridge, don't you think?" Then he places a paw on top of the younger cub's head, "I'll watch over him." He said it in a reassuring tone as he looked at the red panda straight on.

And it worked. Master Shifu's gut feeling told him that he could trust the crippled feline, "After you're all done," he then turned his attention to the younger snow leopard, "you, young man, will head straight back to the palace, no supper."

Tai Lung just stood silent as the anger rose inside of him and with no further words Shifu turned his back and headed back to the Jade Palace but looked back when he was sure the boys couldn't see him.

As the three cats went their way to the eastern side of the valley, Arc couldn't help but bring up the issue that just occurred before him, "Snow Cub, I know you have no reason to trust him but you really have no right to tell Gongju how to live his life."

Tai Lung looked down and let out a big breath from all the steam that had gathered in him.

"Anyway, we should go follow Gongju, don't you think?" Arc said and Tai Lung looked in front of him to see the boy in the wheelchair ahead of them, leading the way, even if they knew it.

He nodded and sustained his march to their destination, behind the child in the wheelchair, as the lion continued to tell the boy of his past.

* * *

_Five years minus a week and a half ago._

The thieves and the children had traveled all the way to the capital city, Beijing. The four minors were intrigued by all the stalls and shops but they were also overwhelmed by the amount of people, and they actually started to look concerned when Kuro led his team and the young members to a bar that was located beneath another establishment in the basement.

The place reeked, there were men arguing loudly, others were fighting and some were just too drunk to even stand, however, the patrons seemed to be very calm and stoic, especially the two muscular staff members standing by a hallway that was empty but had a single door right at the end.

The raccoon led everyone to the two men guarding that hallway and presented a badge with an insignia on it, a seal to entry or exit the hidden world beneath their feet. The two men nodded and stepped aside, allowing the entire team to pass through.

Kuro was about to open the door at the end of the tunnel but stopped and turned to look at his team.

"You are all aware of what lies beyond this point, right?"

"Um, another room?" Said Ralix rather sheepishly.

He sighed, "I'll explain it to the two of you as soon as we're there."

Then the fox boy nudged Wen on the arm, "Sis, I think we're going to _Narnia_!"

The raccoon leader smirked, "You're only half right!" He opened the door to reveal that the room on the other side was a closet. Kuro then gestured everyone to follow him. Everyone did as he ordered even the foxes who were the only ones who seemed not to know what was going on.

They were in for the surprise of their lives.

As it turned out, behind the hanging clothes there was yet another door, one that led to an empty room with yet another door on the opposite side, though, this one is bigger, and it is guarded by two guards as well.

Kuro presented once again the seal and in unison the two men nodded and stepped aside.

What awaited them was none other than another hallway, with a flight of stairs at the end of it that went down, that led to the same pathway they all just went through but in a reverse order, until they made it to another tavern that resembled the other quite a lot, except this one was quieter than the former and the patrons were not the same people but still quite calm and stoic.

"Did we just enter a parallel universe?" Wen asked out loud.

Gongju was the one who answered her, "In a sense, we did!"

They all took a seat as the raccoon explained to the two foxes about The Underground and the laws they had to follow from now on.

They settled at an inn for the rest of the evening as the adults stated that the children were going to need all the rest they could for their incoming journey.

Unfortunately, they could only afford one dormitory, so they all shared an entire room. All had to sleep together, probably, in a tight position.

Iwa's snoring kept the little tykes awake. The adults of the team seemed to be accustomed to the bull's loud snorting and whistling exhales.

The young members of the team had all gathered in a corner of the room as everyone else slept.

"How are you dealing with it, Wen?" Gongju asked the girl who still seemed overwhelmed by the new discovery of The Underground.

"To find out that there is another world underneath us? Better than what I would have expected!" She offered a smile.

"This's so amazing!" Ralix esclaimed.

The snow leopard gestured him to lower his voice and shushed him, "Lower your voice, you'll wake up Kuro and the others."

The fox just smirked at the spotted feline, "If they can sleep through Iwa's snores they can sleep through my _spontaneousness_!"

Gongju hardened his face a bit, "First, 'spontaneousness' isn't a word, and second, it is called courtesy."

Arc placed a paw on the snow leopard's shoulder, "Lighten up, they _all_ know Ralix's loud personality just like Wen's tough demeanor and how good I look naked!"

As if it weren't enough that he was nude at the moment, the lion stood up, placed his paws behind his head and moved his hips in circles to demonstrate his new friends how good he really looked.

Wen shielded her eyes and turned her head away, "Arc, please, stop showing off your body… it makes _it_ wiggle around!"

"You mean my tail?" Arc asked.

_Can anyone be that stupid?_ She thought to herself. "Um, yeah." Then she came up with the possible reason for the lion's behavior and then she asked him, "Were you ever dropped on your head when you were a baby?"

Arc stopped moving his hips and looked blankly at the three children, "How come everyone I meet asks me that?"

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me!" Gongju said as he tried not to focus his gaze on the nude lion or look that uncomfortable about it.

To that, Ralix let out a peep of laughter but retained it. He wasn't going to give the snow leopard the satisfaction that he made him laugh.

Gongju then cleared his throat and informed his comrades, "Anyway, tomorrow Kuro's taking us all to the train station. We figured it would be easier to travel by train than to risk being captured by authorities by road."

The two foxes had been told about the locomotives and how useful they are as well as how the raccoon had multiple warrants of arrest and was wanted by the law in the surface as well as in The Underground.

"I can't wait to see this train thingamajig!" Ralix exclaimed.

"First, we'll have to wear disguises, in order to protect our identities." Gongju informed the three children.

Of course, Ralix had to disagree with him, "Why? No one knows us down here?"

"If anyone sees you with Kuro or that you had something to do with a heist of his it will put you in trouble."

Then the fox pouted, "Man, you' no fun!"

"This isn't supposed to be fun. We're here to help Kuro in this operation." The snow leopard said as calmly as he could muster. He that the vulpine had no bad intentions but he needed to keep him as well as the others calmed in order to maintain their trust and hopefully a friendship.

The little red fox crossed his arms and didn't bother to show his anger as he looked away puffing out his bottom lip. Just like the vulpine's personality was getting on the snow leopard's nerves, Gongju's strict demeanor was bothering Ralix.

"What exactly is he hoping to steal from the fortress?" Wen suddenly asked. She had signed up to steal something but had no idea what it was.

The snow leopard gave an apologetic smile, "I'm not sure but he did say that it was something precious to him."

"We're going to risk our lives for something we don't even know what it is?" Wen let out rather fast as the incredibility filled her voice.

"I know, I can hardly wait!" Arc said as he bounced with excitement.

Somehow the lion's attitude always seemed to lighten everything.

Then the snow leopard yawned rather loudly even if he did cover his mouth but recovered, "Anyway, we should all rest up. Tomorrow we'll leave early for the first train stop at the next village from this one."

The next morning they left the inn early and traveled to the nearest village, which luckily had a train station, once again everyone was wearing a disguise: Kuro was wearing merchant clothing, Iwa and the rest of the team were wearing accessories that would cover most of their faces like glasses, fake beards and moustaches or a paper fan for the females, while the children were either dressed casually like average children or they were stuffed inside a suitcases or rucksacks. Unfortunately, the latter is where Arc was hiding in.

"Hey, can I come out now? I have to pee!" Arc pleaded Kuro from his rucksack hiding place.

"Hold it in; I'll take you to the restroom in the next station." Kuro replied gritting his teeth and bumping the lion for almost blowing their cover.

"Why can't you take me to the one the train has down the hall?" Arc whispered.

Kuro then replied rather sternly, "Because Iwa just used it! Trust me; I'm doing you a favor!"

A whole day passed and they were still traveling to the City of Bricks by train. It was during nighttime when the group took off their disguises or come out of their hiding places and stretched, ate or went to the lavatory facilities.

"Arc, next time wear a disguise, you missed a beautiful waterfall earlier today." Gongju told the lion, recalling the best sceneries he witnessed during the day's trip as he viewed through the window.

"Speaking of water, did you got the chance to take a piss before?" Wen asked. She had heard him complaining from inside the rucksack

Arc happily answered, "I sure did, I found an empty bottle in the rucksack!"

Then Ralix got an idea after hearing the lion, "Can ya give it to me, I'm gonna trick Iwa by telling him it's lemonade!"

"Gross!" His sister said not complaining but laughing at the thought of the prank.

He could see Iwa actually believing that the red fox had given him a refreshing drink only for him to discover that it is not the hard way and was laughing inwardly at the thought.

To the fox's annoyance, Gongju had to say something against it, "Don't do that, he'll get mad at you!"

He had enough of the snow leopard's constant disagreements with him and he was going to let him know how he felt, "How come every time I say somethin' ya have to disagree with it?"

Gongju just sighed and ignored the fox's words, knowing that the best thing would be to avoid conflict. In fact, he avoided it by changing the conversation hoping that Ralix would forget about it too.

Unfortunately, the lion spoke first, "Gongju's right, he'll get mad because Iwa won't believe that it is lemonade. It was too yellow to pass as lemon juice."

Again, Gongju just ignored, though this time was harder because of the lion's words, he still tried to change the subject and he knew just how to do it.

"So Arc, exactly, who is this Naki you mumbled about while you slept at the inn?"

The lion jumped in surprise and let out a tiny squeaky shriek the second the snow leopard said the name of his crush.

Gongju actually bit his lip thinking that he had stepped over the line and hurt the lion somehow, "Um, did I say something bad?"

Arc just scratched the back of his head and looked rather nervous, "Uh, no, just don't tell anyone about her?"

"So it is a girl you like!" Wen said smirking like a know-it-all.

"You heard it too?" Arc asked her feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Everyone in Kuro's team heard you, especially, those loud kisses you were giving her in your dreams." Ralix told him, the fox finding the situation funny.

As rare as it is, Arc was embarrassed by this revelation and it was noticeable in his blushing red cheeks.

"So I'm guessing Naki is the girl you _secretly_ like?" Gongju tried his best to keep the lion from being ashamed of the fact that he has a crush.

"Um, yeah." The lion responded him with his hand behind his neck and a blush in his smiling face.

Wen chuckled but politely, "Look at that, our shameless lion has turned red from embarrassment!"

"Is she pretty?" Gongju pressed on.

This time the archeologist lost his shame and spoke in a praising manner, "Oh yes and if anybody disagrees with that I'll knock some sense into them!"

"Wow, she sounds gorgeous!" The snow leopard concurred with him only to get a smile from the lion in return.

"She sure is!"

* * *

"Arc, I know you enjoyed your time with your friends but will you please just skip the parts that aren't necessary?"

Still on their way to the eastern side of the Valley of Peace with the boy on the wheelchair ahead of them.

Arc sighed, "Fine, but just so you know, you'll miss the part where robbers jumped on the train and the solving of who murdered the rich old lady… it was her butler, by the way."

Tai Lung rolled his eyes and gave a small sigh, "From what I got is that Ralix and Gongju couldn't stand each other, the fox's parents don't care that much about their kids and that you haven't changed a bit in five years."

"Nuh-uh, my mane grew!"

"And it is still growing I presume." Tai Lung concluded.

Arc nodded.

"Speaking of your girlfriend, how are things going between the two of you?" The snow leopard asked.

"A lot better than I ever thought! We've gone on dates, we hold hands, we talk about many things, she took her clothes off in front of me, it's been great!" Arc answered.

Tai Lung's jaw fell open. Did he hear right? "Whoa! Wait, wait, she took her clothes off in front of you?" He waited for the lion to answer him and he did by nodding.

"Did you two… do it?" The snow leopard had no idea how to ask but he needed to know if his friend had gone too far too sudden.

"No." Was all the lion said.

"Still she unclothed herself in front of you. Arc I think you two are going way too fast in your relationship."

"I don't see what the big deal is, she only took off her clothes? I mean, it's not like I didn't already knew how she looked like without them!"

To that Tai Lung raised an eyebrow because there was something he didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Remember how I can feel vibrations in the ground whenever I take a step?" He waited till the cub nodded, though giving the lion a quizzical look, "Those vibrations travel across the ground and through objects and people on top of it, letting me know exactly how they physically look!

"Is that how you knew how Shifu's thingy looked like without ever seeing it?"

"You got that right, mister dragon tattoo on butt cheek!"

Once again, Tai Lung's jaw fell open. He never told a soul about that tattoo. His thick fur always hid his skin but he didn't expect such ability like the one Arc possesses. He knew that if Shifu had found out about it when he was a teenager, the red panda would have probably peeled it off. _Damn, if I had known how keen his senses were I would have been more cautious around him!_

He didn't wanted to explain anything about the tattoo, not unless if it meant revealing his identity to the lion. So in a desperate attempt, Tai Lung pleaded the lion to continue telling his story by asking questions.

"What about Penpal, how did you meet him, and what about Alvar?"

"And Xovius!" Arc added.

"Him too, you said he helped out."

Arc looked at Gongju in front of them, the crippled boy had been listening to him tell the story of their first adventure together, and then back at the younger cat, "Alright then, we arrived at a station in a city not far from the City of Bricks and…"

"Why is it called the City of Bricks?" Even though Tai Lung wasn't exactly interested in details, that was something he wanted to know.

The lion let out an exhale of frustration, "It used to be a huge brick factory!" Arc answered in a bit of a haste and continued with the story, "This time when we exited the train, everyone was wearing different disguises so no one could recognize us no matter what."

* * *

_About five years minus a few weeks ago._

When the train finally arrived at its final destination, Kuro ordered his team to act natural and to keep their new disguises on until they were in the clear, especially when there were still officers aboard the train still inspecting every car for the safety of the passengers. That caused a certain raccoon to grow weary about their mission because it meant that their escape route had to be changed.

Luckily, he had Gongju to come up with that plan and the boy seemed more than confident when the raccoon told him about it.

Unfortunately, one of the lookouts of the team had warned the leader of who was in charge of the officers patrolling the area.

"Everyone, we have to do this quick, make sure no one notices what happened and leave without a trace!" The raccoon said rather sternly.

"You already told us that, Kuro."

He looked serious, like if it was a matter of life and death, "I did, but now everyone has to double their efforts in the hopes that Councilman Tzabar doesn't find out about us or anything that we are up to."

Most everyone in the team were shocked to hear that name except the two foxes who were clearly not well informed about many things of The Underground yet.

* * *

"Who's he?" Tai Lung asked interrupting once again the lion.

"Counsilman Tzabar? He's the last golden jackal in this world you should ever cross paths with or even dare to meet." Arc answered without meeting the boy's eyes. The serious look the lion had in his eyes, when he spoke of that man, told Tai Lung more than enough.

"So… is he like that Gambler freak Lan Se told me about?"

"No, if you have to pick between meeting the Gambler or Councilman Tzabar pick the former." The lion said it so coldly that it brought chills to the cub.

"Why?"

The lion looked at the snow leopard and the boy knew that it was better not to know, "I'll explain later, now's time for my story."

* * *

_Five years minus a few weeks ago._

They traveled by foot, avoiding the main road by going through forests and streams until finally they reached the city with the fortress holding their target.

"There it is everyone. The City of Bricks!" Kuro expressed almost breathlessly as he gazed at the wonder that the city showed to be.

The name fit perfectly. Of course, every building was made of blackish grey bricks but there were stacks of them pretty much everywhere, in fact, there was so much that in order to make space the citizens had to cover up the northern mountains of the city.

Aside from the brick overload, the city had some flora where people seemed to socialize a lot. And way to the back was the building that stood out the most, the heavily guarded fortress.

Kuro started giving commands, "In there is our target… scouts, head out and investigate the fortress and the whole city if needed. Report everything important to Gongju. Is everything clear?"

He waited till his team nodded, "Good, then let's find a hideout for our operation."

The hideout turnout was chosen by the raccoon leader and it was none other than in the abandoned brick factory on the outskirts of the city. Talk about having bricks to spare; the place was full of stacks of the product.

"Shouldn't they export it?" Wen asked the snow leopard.

"According to every other place in The Underground there already is another brick factory of better quality and cheaper prices." He answered her.

Kuro watched the entire city from a second story window. He noticed how people just lived their lives just like any other casual place in the world, how children played, how a few guards changed shifts on every point of the fortress that was visible from there and a few dizzy-looking people socializing in the forestall area apart from other citizens with a few strong men wearing white clothing keeping a close eye on them and that's when the raccoon figured what was happening there: those were patients from the insane asylum and their guards.

He scanned the city once more until he found what he was looking for now. "Ah, that must be the insane asylum."

It was yet another building made of bricks and, just like the factory, it was farther away from any other building, probably to keep those who are considered insane away from the healthy and sane citizens.

His informants had been very reliable according to the little snow leopard, who was devising the operation at the very moment with all the information he had received.

"Gongju, status report?" Kuro called out.

"At this rate will be done with our mission in less than two days!" The boy informed him cheerfully.

And the raccoon responded well to that, "Perfect, the sooner we're as far away from that bastard Tzabar the better!"

Then two of the team's lookouts entered the scene running and out of breath. The raccoon and cub waited for them to catch some air and when they did they revealed worst-case-scenario news.

"Uh, Kuro, we have a problem…"

As it turned out Arc had been taken into custody by the asylum guards who spotted him near the patients.

"They think he's an asylum patient? Why would they think that?" Kuro said incredulously to the two lookouts only to receive silence and disbelieving look from his members.

"Oh, right…" He let out a growl of frustration, "Damn, now we have to break him out of that place too!"

If there was anyone who could come up with a plan it was the snow leopard, "Gongju, forestall the operation and come up with a plan to retrieve the lion from the asylum."

"I'm already on it." The boy concurred.

Then one of the lookouts spoke out of place, "Why don't we just leave him behind? If you ask me, that kid is where he belongs: with people just as _'sane'_ as he is!"

Kuro looked at him sternly and strode towards him, "Because Gongju said that Arc was useful and that he was going to be needed."

The lookout through his hand in the air and before the raccoon leader could reprimand the insubordinate employee Gongju's voice took his attention away, "Got it!"

Kuro looked at the cub who had finished devising a plan to rescue the lion, "That was fast, even for you! So, what's the plan?"

_At the asylum._

"Are you sure this kid is a patient of ours?" Said one of the asylum's guards to another.

"He must be, I mean, look at him!"

And there Arc was, standing on his hands with his legs sticking out in the air, "They say that if you do this you'll sprout wings and then be able to fly just like the spider monkeys!"

"Those things on his arms must be special manacles or something to restrain him…" One of the guards concluded.

"Keep him and the rest in check!" The other guard said as he locked the door, leaving his comrade, the patients and Arc trapped inside a recreation room and the lion only looked at the people there like they were there to have fun.

"What are you doing?" He asked one of the patients.

"My dear lover should walk through that door any second now!"

He kept exploring the room.

"It is madness, I tell you, MADNESS!" A patient was yelling.

He looked curiously at that person in particular until a small wheezy voice got his attention.

"Thou should not listen to them, they're just mad."

Arc looked at where the wheezy voice came from and noticed for the first time a cougar boy wearing a big pointy and curved turquoise hat playing with toys.

"The evil sorcerer shalt destroy the land unless the sword is retrieved!" Said the cougar to a figurine in his left hand and then gestured it to make it seem that it is talking back to him, "There is another way to solve this matter!"

"Whatcha playing there?" Arc suddenly asked the boy.

The cougar didn't respond as he continued to play.

"Hello!" This time he got into the smaller feline's face and startled him a bit.

The cougar gathered himself and finally responded, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"My name is Arc, it's short for Archeologist! What's your name?"

The cougar was shy but responded, "Thy name is hilarious! My name is Penpal!"

"Yeah, like that name isn't funny!"

* * *

"Wait, you found Penpal inside of an insane asylum?" Tai Lung once again interrupted the lion's story with yet another question in which he sounded disbelieving.

"That's right!" Arc nodded.

"What was he in there for?" Can't be any worse than being weird as he is.

Arc's answer surprised him, "Attempted murder!"

_Whoa, that was not the answer I was expecting! _"I could have sworn that it was because he believes he's a wizard of some sort."

Arc blinked once and looked at him blankly, "What do you mean? He is a wizard!"

Tai Lung waved it off, "Whatever, you can tell me later, what happened next?"

* * *

_At the front desk of the asylum about five years minus a few weeks ago._

A man entered the building wearing a long robe.

The man at the counter, behind protective bars, noticed him, "Yes, can I help you, sir?"

"I am looking for my _son_; I believe he is under your custody here!"

"If he's in here, the only way he can check out is by the doctor's examination."

"Fine, let's have him examined!"

The man behind the counter took them to another room and told them to wait for the doctor to attend them.

The stranger with the long coat took a seat and waited till the counter man left. He then opened his robe to reveal Gongju and Ralix hiding inside.

"The coast is clear, find and break Arc out!" Kuro ordered them as they exited their hiding spot and left the raccoon behind as he is supposed to alert them if anyone came their way.

Gongju was going to lead Ralix through the halls of the asylum, "Come on, he should be with the patients that just got back."

"Why do I have to listen to his orders?" The fox complained to Kuro.

"Because he's the brains of the whole operation, now go before someone sees you!" Was all the raccoon said.

"Fine!" Ralix moaned.

The fox followed the snow leopard down an aisle seeing that every room there had a window that the by passers could use to see what's inside.

"Have you seen the people in this place? No wonder they're locked in here!" Ralix expressed.

But Gongju was not there to play games, "The second you spot Arc tell me!"

"You mean like now?"

Ralix pointed at the window at the end of the aisle, in that room were a few patients recreating among each other and so was the lion they were looking for.

Gongju smiled as he noticed the bronze fur of his friend among the other patients, "Good eye, now show the team that you are an essential part of it!"

Ralix pulled out two long metallic pins and jammed them inside the room's door lock. With intricate movements he was able to open it with an audible click.

"Good job and you did it so fast I didn't even need to stand lookout!"

They entered the room and made their way to the lion, unfortunately, a guard they hadn't seen before grabs them by the scruffs of their necks.

"Hey, you two shouldn't be here!" Said the guard.

In a quick flash, Gongju kicked the man's arm, freeing himself, pulled out his crossbow and shot a small dart, which hit its target: the guard's chest. The adult felt dizzy, toppled on the floor and fell down unconscious.

"Whoa…" Was all that left the fox's hanging maw.

Then they rushed to the lion.

"Arc, we came to rescue you!"

The lion turned and smiled down to his friends, "From what? I'm a special guest at this sorcerer's tea party!"

They both looked at the cougar with the big hat, sipping on an empty tea cup.

The lion introduced him, "This is Penpal; Gongju, you need to make him part of the team, he's a _sorcerer_!"

"Dost thou sense the power that lies deep within ye?" Said the cougar as he noticed the snow leopard.

"Excuse me?" Gongju said a little confused.

"I would gladly join ye on thy quest!"

Gongju thought about it at first but he needed to know more, "Sure, just exactly, what can you do that is so necessary for the team?"

Penpal pulled out something from his pocket and showed it to the snow leopard, "I can cast spells with my dice!"

There was silence between the children for a few minutes as Gongju examined the cougar boy, devising plans in his head as to how this kid could be useful in any way until the snow leopard finally answered.

"Welcome aboard, Penpal, my name is Gongju, you've already met Arc over here," he gestured to the lion, "and this is Ralix." The fox offered a peace sign.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance lads!" The cougar said as he placed his hand behind his back, showing to be rather shy.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Ralix whispered to Gongju and he didn't had to think for an answer because he already knew it.

"Positive!"

Ralix gave a loud huff as he crossed his arms, "I'm starting to wonder if you truly are a genius or just plain mad?"

Before Gongju could reply to the fox about how the cougar could come in handy a deep voice interrupted them, "Hey, you two shouldn't be in here and what happen to…" He stopped short of what he was going to ask as soon as he noticed his friend on the floor unconscious.

He was going to get help but someone snuck up behind him and knocked him out cold.

"Kuro, why aren't you distracting the counter guy?" Gongju asked the raccoon and the leader answered.

"Because many of the asylum's guards' shifts just started and they all just walked through the front door!"

The snow leopard gave a long sigh and breathed in deeply, "Time for plan B, then!"

* * *

"We're here!" Gongju's voice broke Arc's story as the boy on the wheelchair let them know that they had arrived at the place they were going to work on.

Arc and Tai Lung looked at the remains of the broken bridge and knew that they were going to clear that up first before beginning to build a new one.

"There you guys are, we were beginning to think that your wheels broke."

"Sorry, I was just listening to Arc tell the story of our heist to Xue Zai and I couldn't help but take my time!"

"Don't worry Gongju I'll keep telling it as we work!"

"Good!" This came from both snow leopards, who looked at each other surprised by their reply in unison, both looked just like the other.

"Nice to see you being friendlier around others for a change!" The paraplegic snow leopard approved of the smaller cat's positive attitude and ruffled the top of his head.

Tai Lung gave a small smile in return, "Yeah… nice."

Nevertheless, Arc continued to tell the story as everyone began to work and listen to him as well, "So as I was saying, Gongju had decided to go to plan B to take care of the problem."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, the ending to Arc's story will be in the next chapter.

Iwa means rock and Kuro means dark both in Japanese.

Those of you who noticed, yes, Kuro is based around Sly Cooper and yes, Gongju has many similarities to Bentley: a crossbow that shoots sleeping dart, brains of the team, makes explosives and both ended up on a wheelchair but no, Gongju is not entirely based upon that character, I was going to make him paraplegic and very smart before I even thought of adding elements of the Sly Cooper franchise.

Remember, read and review!


	18. Through his Eyes

I can't believe it's been two years since I first published this story! Thank you, everyone who patiently waits for every update, even those who don't, read and enjoy my work! Part two of how the Workshop met and how the heist operation ends.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 18: Through his Eyes

* * *

The support beams had been placed exactly where Gongju had instructed and the task turned out to be less arduous thanks to Arc's great strength. Even Tai Lung was amazed by how effortlessly the lion lifted and carried the heavy objects and always displayed a smile while doing so.

"Where did I left off the story again?" Arc asked the four year old cub with an apologetic look in his face.

Tai Lung sighed and rolled his eyes, "The asylum, you dozed off and started to talk about how pretty Naki is and similar crap like that!"

"Because it's true!" The lion retorted back defending the girl of his dreams.

The snow leopard chuckled at his friend's passionate ways, "Are you going to take her out any time soon?"

"I hope so."

Tai Lung raised an uneasy eyebrow after hearing that, "What do you mean, "I hope so"? You're her boyfriend, ask her out again!"

Little did the snow leopard know is that the lion wanted to keep the fact that Naki had been somewhat avoiding him lately and that, not only bothered the lion, but it saddened him.

"Yeah, I should probably man up and ask her again before she thinks I lost interest in her." Arc answered avoiding the cub's eyes and scratching the back of his neck.

Tai Lung sensed the lion's sudden discomfort and wanted to change the subject before it worsened, "Keep telling me the story of the heist Arc! You left off after Gongju initiated plan B and every member of the team entered the asylum to take out the guards."

"Fine." The bigger feline replied and kept on telling the story.

* * *

_Five years minus a few weeks ago._

After the guards were all tied up and placed inside a storage room, the team had to disguise themselves as patients in order to avoid being caught.

"Arc, you almost ruined the whole operation!" The raccoon said through gritted teeth out of frustration and leaned down to reach the lion's level, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Arc lifted his leg and rested his foot on the raccoon's snout, wiggling his toes and carrying a goofy grin, "Toes on your face!"

Kuro patted the lion's leg away and cried out in annoyance, "What is wrong with you?"

"That is how I tried to explain to a doctor that came in earlier, before Ralix and Gongju arrived, and tested me if I was insane or not!" The lion explained.

"And how is that proving you're sane?"

Now the lion carried a smug grin on his face, "I didn't say I was _insane_, did I?"

Kuro just shook his head in disbelief at the feline's weirdness, "Gongju, if you ask me, he's where he belongs, among the insane!"

"He's still needed!" The boy pressed on.

The raccoon huffed in defeat, "Fine, but no more screw ups like this one!"

In that exact moment, Iwa entered the room with a worried look on his face, "Kuro, we have to drop the whole operation, Councilman Tzabar is in the city!"

Kuro argued back, "We can't leave, his men will recognize us, besides we still have to get what we came here for!"

"Fuck that, do you want to risk being captured by that bastard!?" The bull was not hiding the fact that he was scared from his voice. He had heard things about the golden jackal, Tzabar, to law breakers, outlaws and such.

Thankfully, the brains of the team, Gongju, devised a plan for everyone, "We can hide here, pretend we're patients, doctors or staff members and carry out the operation without anyone noticing it!"

Both bull and raccoon raised an eyebrow, "How?"

"Well, most everyone is already wearing a disguise!"

Kuro looked around to see what the cub meant. There were patients around the room and they had either a special robe or a straightjacket. That's when it hit him. No one would ever suspect that a bunch of insane people were behind elaborate schemes.

He smirked at the shear cleverness.

"I see where you're going with this! So what's the plan?"

"We still need to take care of every other employee here in the asylum." Gongju said already pulling out his tools to begin working and making gadgets for his plan.

"Leave that to Iwa and his men!" The raccoon reassured the boy as he gestured at the bull and his equally burly comrades.

And so after an entire search throughout the building they tied up every person in there that wasn't part of their team and threw them with the rest in the storage room.

Gongju on the other hand kept devising plans for everything that could happen both good and bad just in case if things don't occur as he planned. He looked at his team and examined them carefully to see in just what they could come in handy.

"Am I still going to be examined?" Arc asked one of Kuro's scouts.

"Thou possess a powerful soul, one that cannot be withheld by any restraint!" Penpal said with admiration at the lion.

"Where's the little sane ladies' room?" Wen asked as she desperately tried to locate what she was looking for.

"I'm bored as hell!" Ralix exclaimed right before he yawned hugely and laid down on the floor and fell asleep.

"This is starting to become more of a daycare center!" Kuro added as he noticed the children they had picked up in the last few days.

Gongju just smiled at them all, each of them were unique and necessary to the team and he had a plan that he knew was sure to work.

The last thing everyone expected was what came next and no one saw it coming.

A man walked in the recreation room, their new headquarters, and every one of the thieves' eyes shot wide open as they noticed that the person was a guard of the fortress just by looking at his uniform; not only was it the same as the guards of the fortress but it had the seal on the front that allowed them all to recognize it quickly.

It was a panther wearing the uniform that the informants had described to every detail, "I was told to come here because citizens complained that the patient were being louder than usual, screaming in pain, apparently."

Kuro was the one to speak hoping to throw the feline off the scent, "Uh, yes, they… they got food poisoning from expired food!"

The panther eyed him carefully and spoke with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "Well what about the tied up guards of this very asylum in the storage room?"

Kuro then looked at Fu Yóu, a banded red snake who was the team's spy, who looked rather embarrassed at the realization of his mistake.

"You forgot to close the storage room door, didn't you?" The raccoon sent a glare at and chastised the snake by smacking him on the back of his head.

The panther, on the other hand, seemed ready to bolt out of there and alert the fortress about the secret operation. Fortunately, everyone knew what he was planning to do.

"Yeah, we should probably take him out!" Kuro said as he signaled the brutes of his team to move out and take care of the dark cat.

But to their surprise the black feline didn't go down after a series of blows to his body, in fact, he didn't flinch to most of the hits.

"So, you guys don't work here, do you?" He spoke but then his voice changed into a deeper tone, "I told you something was up! Now fight back before they pull out knives and shit!"

The panther did as he told himself and punched the nearest goon, leaving him unconscious with just one blow.

"He's strong!" Kuro said to Gongju in an admiringly manner as he witnessed the amount of hits the man was taking

The cub nodded with an 'I know something that you don't' smile, "Too strong, actually!" He then pulled out his crossbow and shot a sleeping dart at the panther.

The shot hit its target right by the side of the neck and down went the black cat.

"They got me, Xovius, go alert the captain!" The panther cried out to someone.

There was no one else there so with no other interruption coming their way, the panther was tied up but not placed in the storage room instead Kuro kept him in the room in order to get information out of the feline.

The raccoon grabbed him by the uniform's vest and met with his eyes, "Tell us everything you can about the fortress' security system."

The panther simply chuckled to himself in an almost maniacal manner, apparently the dart only made him woozy, "Any moment now, Xovius will return with every guard in the fortress, any second now!"

"No I won't!" The panther responded in a deeper voice but changed his voice back to normal to respond himself, "They got you too?"

The many thieves in the room were all just staring awkwardly at the panther that was most likely mad.

"Great, he's either as insane as any patient in this place or that dart drugged him too much!" Kuro huffed.

Gongju stepped closer to the near unconscious panther on the floor, "Maybe but he's the best opportunity we've gotten so far: he can help us move out of this place without anyone suspecting anything."

"You have the whole plan figured out, don't you?" Kuro asked out of curiosity.

The boy looked back at the cougar, who pulled out a very long flute out of his hat and began playing a rather whimsical tune, turned his attention back to the raccoon with a grin on his face and nodded with sure determination.

* * *

What surprised Tai Lung the most was that the panther wasn't in the asylum for being insane in the first place but he was a guard of the fortress.

Now the Workshop were building the deck as well as placing an anchorage block, carved out of a boulder by the snow leopard on a wheelchair and carried there by the lion, on both ends for extra support, hoping that that will make sure that no civilian wrecks it again.

"So what happened next?" Tai Lung asked the lion who was occupied helping Penpal with moving unnecessary pieces of wood away of the working area.

Luckily, Gongju was not, "Arc is kind of busy at the moment so why don't I tell you the rest of the story?" He then heard his stomach grumble and blushed deeply, "Besides it's a good time for a lunch break!"

Ralix's ears pricked up at hearing the snow leopard mention lunch, of food for that matter, opened a chest next to Gongju's tool box and pulled out a few bowls. "Po's dad made _geng_ for everyone!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around the red fox, except for Tai Lung who just waited to be served. Hearing Mr. Ping being mentioned reminded him of someone he hadn't heard from in a while.

"Hey Arc, is Frankie still working there?"

The lion understood what he meant, "Yup, she's still helping Mr. Ping in his restaurant. After that night that Lan Se took her to dinner, she's been jolly and cooking nonstop and people seem to be enjoying the food she makes at the noodle shop... a lot."

Tai Lung had noticed it and if the rabbit's special ability with food went out of control he knew that it could only end in a disaster. Especially ever since he heard the news that two lovers were caught "cuddling" in the middle of the street.

That also reminded him of someone else, "Where is Lan Se, anyway?"

"He went to send a letter to Naki's parents. He should be back any day now." Arc answered him trying to avoid eye contact as if trying to hide something.

Tai Lung noticed a rather sorrowful look in the lion's eyes, "And that's bad?"

Arc didn't answer. He just avoided the boy's gaze and that was all the four year old cub needed to understand that there was something the archeologist was withholding from him.

He took the lion by his wrist and pulled him aside, "Are things alright between you and Naki?"

The archeologist sighed and spoke but in a very low tone, "She's been distant lately… I don't think she's interested in me anymore."

"What happened?"

"I don't know! We're happily in love one moment and after she's avoiding me for some reason."

That actually surprised Tai Lung a lot. The young couple seemed to be so happy together and in love that to hear that made him wonder what could have gone wrong. "When was the last time you two went out together?"

"At the Wise Tree but even then she seemed a bit distant, like if she didn't wanted to be there, to be there with me."

_Wise Tree?_ Tai Lung thought to himself. "You mean the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom? And what happened before that date?"

"We went to the Pool of Sacred Tears and we both skinny dipped; I already told you that." Not even Arc could hide a smile from anyone without recalling that night.

_I may not be experienced in that department but I think I know what's wrong_. Tai Lung thought as he analyzed the situation and came to a conclusion: Naki was scared.

"Arc, do you wonder if the two of you were going at it too fast?"

Now the lion looked at him incredulously and confused, "Too fast? We only have one life, might as well make the most of it!"

"Yeah, but maybe that's not how she wants to go. Maybe Naki wants to go a bit slower. You can go talk to her later about it if you want." Tai Lung finished there, hoping that the lion sank his words in as they both walked back to where the others were. "Now I would like some lunch."

"Well I'm glad you're starving because we have more than plenty!" Gongju said joyfully as he handed the cub a bowl filled with the steamy soup.

"Thank you, Lei!" Tai Lung replied with a smile. That was no mistake of him; he intended to call him by that name and see what happened.

The older snow leopard looked at him oddly but otherwise smiled back to the boy, "Um, no problem?"

Tai Lung couldn't tell if Gongju's reaction was because he had uncovered the boy's secret identity or because the older spotted feline just found amusing the fact that a little cub mistook his name for another.

The older snow leopard child sat on his mobile chair and moved next to the lion and his small companion while the rest of the Workshop members were already eating their bowls of geng.

"Weren't you going to continue telling the story, Gongju?" Tai Lung reminded the feline.

"Oh, right." Gongju said as he chewed and swallowed, "After we made sure that the panther, who we discovered was named Alvar and had, apparently, an imaginary friend named Xovius, was tied up and would cause no trouble we took his uniform as well as a doctor's robe and straitjackets from the storage room. It was the beginning of a new plan I had strategized."

"I still can't believe that you thought up of the entire heist all by yourself." Tai Lung said in admiration.

"Xovius is imaginary?" Arc asked.

Gongju found that last bit funny, mostly because he didn't know if the lion was trying to be funny on purpose or not, and continued where he left off, "Anyway,"

* * *

_Five years minus a few weeks ago._

They were marching towards the fortress in broad daylight. They were nervous as each one hoped everything went according to the plan.

"Set up a good perimeter by the spot Gongju told you and you," the raccoon turned his attention to Fu Yóu, "I want you to keep a look out for Tzabar and his men. Are we clear?" Kuro waited until both his scouts and snake nodded, "Good, now get going."

He then walked up to the little snow leopard shrouded by a white cloak, "Gongju, this farfetched plan of yours better work out."

"It will." The boy said without hesitation.

Outside the front gate of the fortress was Iwa wearing an asylum guard's uniform leading the thieves disguised as patients. The last thing they wanted was to be recognized, spoiling the whole operation.

"We need permission to enter. One of the patients is injured and we need to treat him this very instant before he worsens." Iwa cried at the top of his lungs to the guards inside.

To his luck, a few swine guards but they were considering the situation, "What are your orders, commander?"

Seeing no harm in letting them treat their injured, the commander waved any possibility out the window, "Let them in, but keep an eye on them; I don't want a single one of those freaks walking around." He then whispered in the guard's ear, "It could be contagious."

That same guard ordered for the gate to open and allowed the asylum residents to enter and wait in a lobby till the injured one was treated at the medic's room.

Another guard, a crocodile, was supposed to take the injured one to where the medic was currently attending patients, "We'll watch over the patient but you need to stay here with the rest."

The bull smiled cordially, "Of course but can I tell you something, it's important?"

The guard actually leaned closer to Iwa, "Yeah?"

And with a powerful fist to the head, the guard fell unconscious on the floor after hitting the wall and slumping down.

With the coast clear, Kuro doffed off his disguise (a straitjacket and a cloak over his head) as well as the rest of the members of the raccoon's team that included the children they had recruited.

"Send the signal to the others that we're in and we're going to begin the operation." Gongju ordered the cougar boy.

Penpal nodded as he pulled his long flute out of his hat. _I still don't know how he's able to fit it in that thing_. Kuro thought to himself as the cougar boy let out high pitched note that could barely be heard, thankfully, the wolves on the outside waiting for the signal were able to hear it and began the first phase of the plan.

"Are you sure no else could hear it?" Iwa asked as he noticed Wen and Ralix uncovering their ears that served as protection against the sound at such a close range.

"Only canines are able to hear that kind of frequency, duh!" The snow leopard responded.

It was a good thing too that the panther had provided them with information about the species of the guards in the fortress and that he could use to his advantage knowing that there weren't wolves nor canines patrolling the stronghold.

"You just made me feel stupid." Iwa said.

Ralix, feeling like the little smartass that he is, decided to speak his mind, "You drank Arc's pee and didn't even notice it was piss until three days later when we felt bad about it, no, after we felt _sad_ for you for not noticing it and told you! Man, you _are_ stupid!"

Gongju chastised the red fox in a somewhat lame manner as he waved his finger at the other boy and reprimanded him, "Ralix, please, treat others how you wish to be treated!"

Of course, the fox huffed and crossed his arms, "You're such a mama's boy!"

Kuro, on the other hand, had no time for dumb interruptions like the one the red fox just did; he wasn't going to have some bratty kid bother Gongju with his top priorities so he spoke on behalf of the young feline the worst way possible, "At least he _is_ a mama's boy. Your parents don't even love you."

The room became silent and cold at the same time.

Wen was shocked, but mostly outraged, by the raccoon's words. She was even ready to pounce on the man and beat him to a pulp once she saw the hurtful look in her little brother's face until Gongju stood in her way. "Please, don't." Was all the snow leopard said with a no-nonsense tone as he tried to stop the vixen with a silent stare, luckily, she took the hint, calmed down and went to comfort Ralix, though he refused to admit that he had been emotionally hurt by their leader.

This was not the right time to argue when they had to pull off a heist with limited time, "Let's begin the operation, shall we?" Gongju said with a hopeful smile to the two foxes, which were in each other's arms for support, hoping to cheer them up.

They didn't respond. The two vulpines just stared at the floor.

This was not good, Gongju started to fear that this could jeopardize the entire operation and put everyone in danger. He needed to compromise with the situation, "Why don't you two stay with me here until your assistance is needed?"

He then started giving orders to everyone, "Kuro, commence phase one. Iwa and these two" the cub gestured at two of their rather muscular accomplices, "will sneak up and take out the guards surrounding this area as you open up the front gate where our canine comrades will be waiting to enter with our weapons and tools. Take the unconscious here so no one suspects a thing if they see them littered around."

They nodded and exited the small quarter.

"Arc, give the signal to the headquarters." The cub ordered the other feline.

"Sure thing!" The lion moved to a window and stuck his arm out in order for the daylight o shine upon it and all he had to do is move it around till the reflection made its way back to the asylum, where the rest of Kuro's team awaited for their part of the plan, and signaled the lion, using a mirror, to let them know they were ready.

Gongju, as well as the rest of the children could hear sounds of fists making contact on solid objects and the subsequent collapse on the floor of those very same targets.

Penpal was feeling sad at the sight of the sad foxes, "Cheer up, Ralix; I'll play you my favorite lullaby!"

As much as good as a cheering up song sounded, Gongju stepped in to stop the cougar because he knew it would be pointless and the current situation they were all in was not the best scenario to draw in attention, "Don't, that could alert guards."

"I know what will cheer you up!" Arc said ecstatically as he reached inside of his shorts, to Wen's apparent disgust, until he reached what he was looking for and pulled it out, "A ball of yarn!"

* * *

"Whoa, what the hell?! Where exactly do you pull those things out of?" This sudden burst came from Tai Lung. He had no idea where did Arc hid those darn things without anyone noticing it.

"Out of my shorts! Duh." The lion answered as if it were common sense as he pointed at his groin.

Before Tai Lung could argue back about it, Gongju stopped him, "It's better not knowing a few things."

He settled for that answer fearing that the actual one would scar him mentally and settled for wanting to listen to the rest of the story and wanted to know if that douche Kuro got what was coming to him.

Then out of nowhere a certain panther appeared in front of the group of children.

It was Alvar who spoke with his soft voice, "Wen, I have exactly what you told me to get to sweep Tigress off her feet."

The vixen noticed the cans of paint and brushes in his grasps, "Good, now do it someplace where everyone, especially her, can see it."

Hearing that, the black feline smiled enthusiastically and exited the scene to carry out his seduction ritual.

Tai Lung just shook his head at the panther's persistence, "How is he going to try to romance the walking menstrual cycle this time?"

Wen chuckled at first but nevertheless answered him, "Well, I told him to paint her, to denote her beauty, and showing it to her, but I told him to make it as big as possible so she'll be overwhelmed by the gift."

Gongju raised an eyebrow, "You sure that's going to work?"

Wen simply laid back against a boulder, completely none caring of the outcome of the panther's romancing attempt, "No, but I did say I was going to help him and I happen to have read something like that in a novel once."

"Anyway, Arc pulled out the ball of yarn because, according to him…"

* * *

_Five years minus a few weeks ago._

"It will bring you joy!" Arc explained to everyone as he held the ball of yarn in front of the two vulpines.

"No thank you." Wen said almost in a whisper continuing to hold her brother close.

Arc sat down on the floor and looked at the two siblings with a blank face, "Geez, if a ball of yarn won't cheer you up, then I don't know what will."

"Get away from me ya freak!" Ralix yelled at the lion trying to hold back tears.

"He's just trying to help." Penpal said as he held his flute rather nervously.

Now the fox really got angry, "By giving me a stupid ball of yarn?"

The lion pouted and threw the ball of yarn near the fox's reach, "Not just a ball of yarn: a special ball of yarn, one that means a lot more than an average one!"

"Why?"

"Because it's a gift from a friend, that's why!" Arc answered the enraged boy.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"Anything you wish." Arc said with his big hopeful eyes.

This was really annoying the fox to the point that he might go berserk towards his teammates. Gongju wasn't going to allow that; he wasn't going to let him and everyone else get in trouble so he walked up to the angry vulpine and spoke in a leveled tone.

"When I don't understand something, Ralix, I always put myself in that person's shoes," the snow leopard then smiled apologetically as he looked at the lion's feet, "even if they don't wear shoes, and try to see the world the way they do. Try to see everything through his eyes and the answer will be in plain sight."

Ralix simply pushed him away, "What do you know about me?"

The snow leopard minded the other boy's personal space and stayed out of his reach, "I know that you are even more clueless than Arc."

"What are you trying to say by that?" Ralix argued back crossing his arms and anger displayed in his features.

Gongju still kept his cool, "All I've heard from you two say about yourselves is that your parents don't care about both of you but if you look at it in another way, you'll realize that you're wrong, both of you."

The room was silent. Even Arc was quiet.

Before anything else occurred, Kuro and the others, as well as the wolves with their weapons and tools, entered the room carrying with them the now unconscious guards they had confronted.

The raccoon noticed the vulpines in the m idle of the room, "You're still sulking?"

"Leave them to me, Kuro, I'll handle it." Gongju fought back in an even tone but continued his job, "Next phase is to lure the guards away from the main courtyard so we can sneak in undetected. That is why Penpal, you will play your flute loud enough to be heard all the way down the long hall, luring any guards near to us so that the brawns take care of them and that will leave the laundry room for us to use to our advantage."

There were laundry chutes all over the fortress and they all led to different places in the fortress.

"Arc, I need you to reach the alarm bell at the very top of the tower. From what our captive panther friend told me, you can reach it quite easily just going up the flight of stairs, five doors down this room but you'll need the guards taken care of first but once you're there cut off the rope connected to the bell. No rope, no alarm."

He turned his head to the cougar and nodded giving the other feline a silent order to play a song and the result came faster than expected as many of the guards in the area were waiting outside the door to the room they all were. There were too many to handle but luckily Gongju had already planned ahead by slightly opening the door just enough allow a little ball through and into the group of confused men waiting outside for explanations for the tune playing inside of the medic's quarters.

"What was that thing you threw at them?" Iwa asked the spotted child.

The boy simply held up his hand, "Wait for it…"

A few seconds after the snow leopard had said his statement a tiny sound was heard on the other side of the door and the subsequent sounds of bodies falling on the floor.

"What happened?" Said one of the wolves who had jumped in surprise to the explosion and was now being held in Iwa's arms.

"The ball I threw detonated, releasing knockout gas that will leave them asleep for hours." Gongju explained to his confused comrades.

"How did you manage to get stuff like that?" This question came from Iwa who looked very surprised at what he just witnessed.

Once again, the snow leopard had to explain everything to his teammates, "There was plenty of medication at the asylum and Arc knew which ones to mix in order to obtain that concoction. Now get going, you have a bell to sabotage, we'll be waiting in the laundry room!"

As the lion happily exited the room to do his task, Gongju continued giving orders. First it was to bring every unconscious guard inside the medic's room and give a dose of the gas to every other guard they had confronted earlier, just to be sure.

"Now let's move on to the laundry for the next phase."

Once everyone had exited the now full room of sleeping guards, Fu Yóu appeared with a worried look on his face.

"Kuro," the snake called out the raccoon completely out of breath, "Tzabar and his men are on their way to the asylum for some reason!"

The raccoon cursed inwardly as he heard the snake tell him the bad news. They were going to be busted once the golden jackal realized what was wrong in the asylum with locked up guards and a few of his team members there.

He turned to his most obvious resource, "Gongju, what are we-" He was cut off by the snow leopard.

"I already planned ahead, just in case!"

That was great news. It meant that he had nothing to worry about but still he couldn't hide another fact, "Sometimes you scare me!"

Then it was Iwa who spoke, "Shouldn't we be getting to the laundry before we're spotted out here in the open?"

The large group of thieves moves simultaneously down a long hall and entered the room at the end of it for their plan to continue. To their surprise, Arc was already there with the remaining of what once was the rope connected to the alarm bell.

"What took you guys so long? I was starting to think something bad happened to all of you." The lion said as his worries dissipated.

"We're here _retard_, aren't we?" Kuro replied to the lion and his words were able to hurt the feline as he backed away from the raccoon, not wanting to be in his way.

Gongju actually seemed annoyed by the man's attitude towards others but he knew that at least he had to maintain control, "Wolves and slim team, go through the laundry chutes and report anything you see."

He then turned to the bull and raccoon, "Kuro, Iwa, look for any piece of uniform you find in these piles of dirty clothing that fit you properly so we can move onto the next phase. You two, stand guard by the door in case if anyone walks in and you, look for a janitor uniform."

Once the raccoon and bull were wearing, rather smelly, guard uniforms, the snow leopard ordered them both to move forward towards the main hall located deep within the center of the fortress.

Gongju was not aware of most of the details of the fortress, which is why he ordered men to climb up the laundry chutes and spy around without being noticed and report anything: patrolling guards, booby-traps, secret passages and, of course, if Kuro and Iwa passed through where they were snooping.

"Any sign of them?" the spotted cat called out to each of the team members inside the shoots.

"They just passed through this hall."

"I see them coming this way."

"They're over here now. Oh, and Iwa just high-fived me!"

It was going smoother than expected… until a certain snake entered the room with a worried expression.

"Fu Yóu, what is it?"

"It's Tzabar… he's in the fortress!"

This was bad. If that man discovered them their punishment would beyond worse than a death sentence.

The snow leopard went to every chute in which his comrades were following his orders, "Alert Kuro and Iwa of Tzabar if they pass through wherever the chute leads you and tell them to play it cool if they run into him."

"Oh crap, Gongju, Tzabar and his men are heading towards Kuro and Iwa!" One of the thieves crawled out of a chute and alerted the feline.

"Kuro and Iwa are heading my way this instant." Another thief alerted the cub from his laundry chute.

The boy nodded as he took the information in and gave out orders, "Go back up and warn them about Tzabar."

The thieves nodded and followed through the boy's commands and went up the chutes.

"I assume everything went according to plan in the asylum?" Gongju asked the snake in a rather know-it-all manner.

The red banded snake nodded, "Yes, he didn't suspect a thing; that was some good thinking on your part!"

He then looked at Ralix he was staring at his feet, anger displayed on his face and also a few tears welling up in his eyes as his sister tried to comfort him. Arc and Penpal both looked saddened by simply seeing the fox like this.

The snow leopard walked up to the fox, "Ralix," the vulpine's ears pricked up hearing his name, "I know what Kuro said hurt you, but do you honestly believe what he said?"

"Of course I do, my parents don't care about me or my sister!" He avoided anyone's gaze.

The feline stared at him intently and placed a paw on the other boy's shoulder, "That's not true."

"How would you know? Your parents don't treat you the way ours treat us!"

There were no words being exchanged for a silent minute or so until Gongju spoke once more, "I don't have parents." Everyone in the room stared at the snow leopard after his confession, "But you two do and let me tell you that if your parents didn't love you both, they would have never even bothered to feed you, keep a roof over your heads or even bothered to take you to where they would be even if they aren't always around."

Gongju got closer to the fox and vixen, "I'm sure that when your father paid those self-defense classes for you he intended for you to be able to protect yourself, Wen." There was a pause to let that sink in, "I'm sure that if you see things through someone else's eyes you will learn that just because you can't see something clearly it doesn't mean that it does not exist. I wish I had what both of you have, something that I have desired for so long, parents or no parents: a family."

They had spent so much time complaining about how bad their parents were that they completely forgot to see the good traits about them: how their father never allowed to do fun things only because he thought they were dangerous and how their mother always provided them with food every day even if she didn't have any as long as her children were full and content.

"As much as imperfect both your parents are so is every other parent in the world…" the snow leopard then smiled at the two vulpines reassuring them that they would never be alone as long as he was there for them, "and now, I need you two to put yourselves together and help us through this operation. Can I count on you two?"

The two siblings just looked at the snow leopard who smiled at them and they both returned a smile and nodded in unison. Now that he had the trust of everyone, the cub was sure nothing would go wrong as long as he's in charge.

Then one of the wolves came down from his laundry chute with an enthusiastic expression, "Gongju, it worked; Tzabar actually thought they were actual guards!"

"And where is he now?" Of course there was concern in the boy's voice since nothing good could come out of Tzabar's presence.

"He mentioned something about meeting the person in charge of the fortress."

What could that dog be planning?

Gongju then turned his attention to his latest recruits, "Kuro and Iwa should have cleared up the path for us, Arc, Penpal, Ralix and Wen, follow me, and the rest of you keep doing what you're doing and wait for orders."

The snow leopard entered the chute which, according to the wolf that had just spoken to him, would lead him straight to the raccoon and bull. Arc happily followed him, Penpal looked weary at first but otherwise went along and the two fox siblings were not that far behind knowing that their feline leader wouldn't let anything happen to them.

When they finally climbed the entire length of the small passage, the children found themselves a few feet away from their two adult comrades who were staring in awe at the room they were in: it was spacious but it also contained a vault in the middle that was protected by a series of thin, almost invisible, wires that would surely trigger traps and alarms if not careful and the only way to deactivate them was a lever by the side of the vault.

But first they needed to get rid of the guard standing next to the vault making sure no one got close without him noticing it and he was eying Kuro and Iwa with a stern and determent look.

Kuro cleared his throat and spoke to sentry who had just noticed him while the children hid from being detected, "We were ordered by the boss to retrieve something from the vault."

"What's the password?"

Both Iwa and Kuro had no idea what to say, "Um," feeling lucky the raccoon tried to guess, "password?"

"That's not it."

"The boss changed it!" Iwa added hoping that that would work.

The guard simply huffed and raised an eyebrow, "I didn't receive any news about the password being changed?"

"You're actually going against our boss?"

"No, it's just that-" The guard stopped in midsentence and collapse on the floor. Iwa and Kuro had no idea what had just happened but when they noticed the snow leopard with his crossbow at hand everything became obvious.

"That conversation would have taken forever if I hadn't stepped in." And as the snow leopard loaded his weapon just in case he ordered the next art of the operation, "Arc, do your thing!"

The lion enthusiastically jumped into the field covered by wires dangling from all directions but he evaded every single thread so fast and effortlessly by bending and flexing his body in ways that no one should that everyone wondered if the feline had ever worked in a circus act before and the way he jumped through the small openings between wires and not scraping even one left his observing teammates amazed, especially since the lion was still wearing his _dou li_.

Alas the lion made it through and was standing over the sleeping guard. "Now what?"

"Pull down the lever." Gongju called out to the lion.

He did as told and all of the wires were pulled up to the ceiling leaving the room safe for his team to cross the wire-free space.

Kuro then inspected the unconscious guard, "The guard doesn't have a key on him, how are we supposed to open the safe?"

Gongju shifted his attention to the red fox, "Ralix, you said you know how to pick locks, right?"

The fox smirked and nodded, stepping forward and pulling out a few metallic picks from his pockets and jammed them inside the vault's key hole. He moved them around the tight little space until an audible click was heard, enough for it to echo in the room.

Kuro turned the vault's knob and opened it. He began to search inside of the metallic chamber for whatever he was looking for.

Arc then looked back at where they all entered and felt movement coming towards them, "Someone's coming and he's not alone."

"Kuro, just take everything, you can assort it all later, we have to go now!" Gongju informed.

The raccoon opened his rucksack and emptied the vault's contents in it.

The snow leopard pointed towards another hallway besides the one they came in, "This way, if I'm correct there should be a way out."

And he was right. They came along a laundry chute and dumped all of the valuables down the descent, "Kuro, go down the chute and tell your men that it's time to escape, I'll stay here and guide Iwa safely out of here."

"How come I can't go down the chute?" The bull asked.

"You're too big to fit through it."

They kept moving, knowing that guards must be aware of that there are intruders, and looking for a specific door to enable their escape.

Then the snow leopard finally saw it, a door with a sign on it, which depicted the ventilation system, "Through here, we need to reach the laundry undetected and what better way to do that than by going through the crawl space."

Once inside everyone had to be quiet and still since there wasn't much space for a lot of movement up ahead. It was any claustrophobic's nightmare: the beginning was big enough but it got tighter and darker as it went on through the small tunnels between walls, rooms and chambers.

"You sure it's safe?" Iwa asked as the tight passage got smaller and smaller and his belly began to scrape the wall.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Was the reply he received from the snow leopard.

After minutes inside the very small, dusty and dark tunnel in between walls they all heard guards on both sides talking to one another, walking by and the occasional passing of gas as they thought no one was around to witness it.

It looked like it was going to take them longer with their slow pace and things didn't look better when they heard the floor beneath their feet cracking and giving away under their weight.

"Oh crap!" Arc exclaimed as he felt the floor beginning to crumble. "Hurry up before the floor-"

But it was too late, the floor broke apart and they plummeted all the way down to the basement with a noisy crash.

Luckily, there wasn't any serious injury.

Dust settled over the now unconscious children and bull lying on the floor. Arc was the first to awaken as he stood up trying to gather himself in order to help his friends.

"Wake up everyone, we need to leave this place!"

They began to stir and moan until one by one the children awoke.

"What hit me?" Ralix said as he held his head on both sides.

Penpal picked up his hat and looked around, "Where are we?"

The five children examined their surroundings. It had stained glass images on the ceiling being held by wooden frames. It looked very gothic.

"I think this is some sort of cellar. But what exactly are they storing in here?" Gongju asked as he examined the racks on the walls. There were bottles placed there containing a strange substance. He recoiled and stepped back once he realized what it was. "That can't be what I think it is!"

"Hey, who are you kids?" A very deep voice said from behind the kids.

They all turned around and saw an elephant guard with a maze on hand and ready to swing it at the intruders.

Gongju risked a look at Iwa and, to his horror, the bull was still unconscious beneath some debris. This was not good, now they had to take out this guard all by themselves.

But he wasn't going to allow him to hurt his friends, "Arc, take care of his trunk, Wen, take out the legs."

The large mammal charged at them but stopped when the lion jumped on his tusks, grabbed ahold of his trunk and pulled it all the way back to the guard's backside, blinding him in the process. The vixen took the opportunity and kicked the back of the elephant's knee making him lose his balance and dropped down on the other leg's cap.

But with all his strength, the giant man shook off the lion and swung his trunk at Wen, knocking her against the wall. Then he pinned her against it with his tusks, making her wince in pain, and he was about to do serious physical harm to her but pulled away as a sudden pain in his leg shot through his entire body.

It was Ralix who had plunged a lock pick on the side of the femoral area. "Stay away from my sister!"

The elephant's eyes were burning with rage as he plucked the sharp metal pick out of his leg and tripped the boy with his injured limb. He was going to make the little brat pay for the wound; he was going to crush the child with his bare hands.

Luckily for the red fox, Arc came in to his rescue by hitting the pachyderm by the side of his head with his armored forearm. That made the large guard fall down and hit the ground hard leaving him presumably unconscious.

"Come on, help me get Iwa on his feet!" Gongju said to his team as he tried to pull the bull of the wreckage.

Once they got the bull out of the rubble and debris, the children were about to look for the exit, carrying their comrade until trouble stepped in once again.

The elephant grabbed the unsuspecting snow leopard and began crushing him with his hooves to the point that the boy started coughing up blood.

"Let go of my buddy!" Ralix yelled at the enormous mammal as he hit him with his closed fists right beneath the knee to no effect whatsoever.

Wen then noticed a broken stained glass structure holding its wooden frame, which was only the bottom portion of the border, right above the pachyderm, many feet high from him, "Penpal, look!"

The cougar boy saw the large glass structure and understood what she meant so then he pulled out his flute and played a high-pitched note, making the glass crumble, crack and ultimately shatter, falling on top of the guard's head. However, this time the pachyderm didn't got back up on his feet, nor did he open his eyes ever again as he gasped his last breath.

Everyone gathered around the snow leopard who was trying to stand up.

"Gongju, are you alright, buddy?" This came from Ralix who carried a worried look.

Once he was standing straight the feline smiled proudly at his team, "I will be, thanks to all of you!"

Then they heard a big yawn come from the bull as he finally woke up and noticed the dead elephant in the room, "What the hell did I miss?"

"Iwa, you're okay!" All of the children said in unison running to embrace their friend.

"I should ask that to all of you kids! What happened to all of you and did you kids do this all by yourselves?"

They knew what he meant and they all simply nodded but Gongju was the one to speak, "They did it, all by themselves, I just told them what to do and even then they were able to take him out by themselves."

Then Ralix wrapped an arm around the snow leopard's neck, "We wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you, man!"

The cub smiled at the fact that the fox embraced him in such a trusting way.

"Enough congratulations, we need to get out of here." Iwa informed the young ones as he brushed dust off of his body.

And with no further delay, they looked for an exit and made their way out of the cellar and went back to the laundry room but it wasn't easy with guards now patrolling the area, looking for any intruder.

"What took all of you so long?" Kuro said gritting his teeth.

"A little respect for the children, hardass!" Iwa defended the tykes. "They deserve a feast in their honor for what they have accomplished today!"

Thankfully, Gongju spoke before any more words were exchanged, "We dealt with some minor difficulties but we're here and ready to escape!" He then looked for any sign of guards nearby and to his relief there weren't any, "Open up the tunnel."

* * *

"So what happened next? How did you escaped?" Tai Lung asked as Gongju added the finishing touches to the new finished bridge, hammering a few nails for more resistance.

The older snow leopard explained, "We escaped right under their noses by hiding inside a few laundry carts and the guy I told to wear a janitor disguise pushed us out of there one by one and no one even bothered to check because they thought we went through a secret tunnel that lead to a secret entrance about a mile away so the guards wasted their time searching through the wrong place and gave us enough time to get out of there, go back to the asylum, get rid of any trace we left behind and left the city unscathed."

There were still a few things Tai Lung didn't get, "What about Alvar, I thought he helped you guys pull off this heist?"

"He did." Now Tai Lung looked really confused, but to his relief the vixen explained this part, "You see Gongju had thought this through before we even got to the city; he hired Alvar to enroll as a guard in the fortress, weeks before my brother and I joined the thieves, so he could learn as much as he could from the other guards and the fortress."

Her brother then spoke, "How do you think that Tzabar didn't suspect a thing when he was in the asylum? Alvar was there to inform him that everything was clear; he was on our side the whole time!"

Whoa, Kuro may be a douche but he was right when he said Gongju was scary in a way.

There was still something he didn't understand yet, the reason why he wanted to hear this story, "But, how did you become paraplegic?"

Everyone was silent now but Gongju explained either way, "On our way back to reach the surface and get back to the Valley of Peace, we took a detour to avoid the main roads and I was still recovering from my close encounter with that elephant and at some point I needed to rest for a while but Kuro wasn't going to let that happen so as soon as I saw a group of circus caravans that was willing to give us all a ride I jumped to that offer.

"I still don't know how you ended up on a wheelchair." Tai Lung insisted.

"Patience, young one!" Even Gongju chuckled after saying that and took a deep breath, "In the caravan I asked Arc if he could place my tool box on a compartment above me since I couldn't reach, he tried to make it fit, he struggled for a couple of minutes but then decided that he would stand there and hold that box in place for the whole ride."

Tai Lung looked at Arc who was in a sudden sad mood. "What exactly happened?"

"He saw from a window something interesting; I don't know what it was."

"It was a man selling pastries covered in whipped cream." Arc explained to everyone.

"Well, he left his post and the tool box fell on my back in the exact moment I leaned forward to pick up something and it hit a very tender area in my lumbar…" He paused for a few seconds to take in breath as he recalled the painful event, "I wasn't able to scream in pain because of the position I was crushed in, thankfully Iwa noticed me contorted in an unnatural manner and helped me get the tool box off my back."

Gongju then noticed the lion looking sadder than earlier, "It was an accident Arc and I don't blame you for it." He then placed a paw on the lion's shoulder and offered a smile, "I may not walk perfectly but I'm still here to be your friend!"

He waited till the lion smiled back, finally realizing that his friend wasn't angry at him one bit. So the lion hugged the other feline in a rather apologetic fashion and the snow leopard continued telling the young cub what happened afterwards.

"Once we made it back to the valley, Kuro parted ways with us and we decided to make a team this time to do productive things."

The two cats pulled apart from the hug but it was still noticeable that the lion still felt guilty in a way.

Tai Lung then took the archeologist's hand in his, "Arc, they're your friends, you really think they will turn their backs on you?"

The lion looked around and smiled as he saw that his friends didn't see him any less than what he is just because he made a mistake in the past, "No, at least, not anymore, especially with friends like you two!" He wrapped his armored arms around the necks of the two snow leopards.

The four year old cub couldn't agree more with the lion as he spoke, "My two dear friends:" Tai Lung turned his attention to Gongju, "my friend who is crippled from the waist down," and then turned his attention to Arc, "and my friend who is definitely crippled from the neck up!"

The three felines pulled apart from each other and noticed that Penpal had finished the last touches to their work.

"The bridge is finished, inspected for any dangers and approved by us!" The cougar said as he stood on the structure.

"Good work, everyone!" Gongju praised his friends' hard efforts as he witnessed the entire structure from a distance on his wheelchair, viewing the amazing job he and his comrades did.

Before they could all celebrate on a job well done, the cougar boy noticed something horrifying. "Look!"

They all turned their attention to where the boy pointed and there it was: a house engulfed in flames a few streets away.

"Let's go everyone, we could be needed!" Gongju said to his team as they all followed the rising smoke.

"You guys go ahead, I'll clean up here!" Arc informed them.

"Thanks man!"

Arc saw them leave and then turned his attention to a tree not far from where he stood. "You can come out now."

No response.

"I know you've been following me and Snow Cub since this morning so come out."

The lion was right, someone was hiding behind the tree and when that person stepped out from his hiding place the archeologist expected better from him but to spy on his son was a bit too low for his taste.

"Shifu, I know you want to get to know Snow Cub better but I don't think invading his privacy is the best way."

The red panda sighed and explained his actions, "I felt that this would have been a great way to figure out anything that Zai likes and I did: he's very fond of you and Gongju."

The lion scratched his head, "But is spying on him really necessary?"

"You said you were going to help me and you did by not revealing me so thank you." The old master explained in a level tone though casting a judgmental eye on the feline.

"You heard the whole story so I suppose that means you know about the place my friends and I went five years ago." Arc had no idea how the red panda would react but he knew that he would make sure to keep him quiet about the secret world even if it meant doing something heinous.

Thankfully, the master relieved him just a bit, "I've never been there, though I've heard rumors about it. All this time it was true."

Arc was silent out of guilt. He could have revealed Shifu any moment to his friends, especially to Tai, but chose not to just because of the promise he made to the red panda.

"I wonder what could have caused that fire." The red panda said just to break the silence between them.

Arc turned his attention where his friends went and Shifu noticed his longing expression.

"I'll clean up, don't worry." Master Shifu said to the teenager whose eyes shined with gratitude, "Go and catch up with your friends. Judging the way they are, they'll try putting out the fire. They'll need you no doubt about it." _Besides, my students will most definitely do the dangerous tasks, not them._

The feline ran up to the red panda and held him up in a tight embrace, pressing both their cheeks together, "Thank you, Master!"

Shifu felt like tearing up hearing the lion call him by his title, in a way, he had made the strange feline trust him with the passing of time. But the archeologist didn't hug him for long knowing that his friends were waiting for him so he let go of the old man without much hesitation and turned away towards the burning building and his waiting pals.

He wanted to ask so many things to the lion: his origins, the secret world which he knew more about than he, new styles of kung fu, how to wins his son's affection and, of course, where the hell did Xue Zai got a tattoo?

But that would have to wait. The old master took a deep breath and stared at the sunny sky and gave a small, yet sad, smirk, "So _The Underground_ has brought someone else to my life…"

* * *

A/N: And that was how Arc met the Workshop kids. Yeah, the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger but you should be used to those by now. Fu Yóu means slick in Chinese.

Next chapter will focus more on other characters than the usual ones.

Please read and review.


	19. If the pants fit

Now that most every character has been properly introduced, it is time for the real plot of the story to begin so hold on tight for some huge turn of events. Also, I think enough is enough, time for a big reveal!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda blah, blah, blah. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 19: If the pants fit

* * *

Everything was going according to plan.

It was dark.

He grabbed a little wooden chip and moved it across a plain board, decorated in squares of black and red.

In the center of this dark room was a table with a lit candle and a checkers board as a dark figure wearing a black leather cloak, hiding, like always, his face, played the board game by himself, though there was someone else in the room with him: a brightly colored bloke, staring at his boss, waiting for any word to come out from the ever smiling freak.

Then the Gambler stopped playing and stared back at the waiting bird, "Look at the fruits that the seeds you helped plant have given us!"

The flamingo gulped as the strange individual in front of him flashed his teeth and showed a smile that grew wider, moved a piece and then rotated the board so as to face the opponent side but never taking his eyes away from the bird, "Um, yes, I noticed how everything is going according to what you planned. The Workshop children went to fix the Thread of Hope and are now in the Valley of Peace."

The cloak wearing freak moved a piece on the board and rotated it once more, "You helped me so I will help you!"

"Excellent!" Cinpronio exclaimed with enthusiasm and even jumped a bit as he finally was going to receive the vengeance he so much wanted from the freak, who he now noticed was wearing a silver crown on his cloaked head.

But then the Gambler held up a finger and shattered the bird's spirit, "But first, you need to do for me one more favor…"

He couldn't believe it. Anger filled him. After everything this deranged man has put him through he still expects him to do yet more missions, "No, I already did what you told me. I want my revenge against that little brat who murdered my friends!"

The Gambler moved another piece across the board like if anything the flamingo had said meant nothing, "In time you will but you need to obey in order to get what you desire."

Then the smiling oddity looked straight at the pink bird with eyes that burned red with anger even though his toothy smile never disappeared, "Or maybe you are just an expendable pawn worthy of being tossed into the line of fire to see what our opponent has to offer. Are you just a little sacrificial lamb in all of this, my dear Cinpronio?"

The bird just gulped and held up his wings, "Uh, no."

"Good," the Gambler turned the board game around once more and took a piece in his grasp, "Lian will accompany you to your next mission and I expect you to pull this off" he crushed the wooden chip by gripping his fist and looked straight in the frightened bird's eyes, "because if not..." he opened his gloved hand, releasing what was left of the game piece: nothing but dust.

Seeing that he could not finish his game without the object he had just destroyed, the Gambler flipped the board to the floor, scattering every other piece all over the place. Then he smiled at Cinpronio and handed him a sack with something the bird feared to look at.

"Now get going. You have a play date to attend!" The Gambler said as he gestured towards the exit which was behind the flamingo.

Cinpronio looked behind him and noticed Lian wearing a laced trim pink dress, with a big bow tied around her waist, as she happily licked a swirly lollipop.

"First, we're going to play dress up!" The feline said as she gestured at the bird's sack, which was a relief to the bird knowing that nothing scary was inside the bag.

Once both the bird and Lian had exited the scene, the Gambler called out for someone hidden from sight.

"Ciqi, my dear, can you come out and play?"

Out of the shadows a pale figure approached the smiling individual.

The Gambler smiled at this person and waved hello, "The time is almost near. I have a little task for you too. Send your little friends to do some snooping around for me, please!"

The person hidden in the shadows stood there and spoke with a very soft voice, "Where?"

"The capital city. I need to know what _he_ is up to." The Gambler answered.

Finally, Ciqi left the darkness and approached the smiling individual, she wore a similar dress to what Lian wore but this one was long, it concealed her legs, and black, it appeared to be have holes on it getting bigger as it reached the bottom, and she was covered in dust and there were cobwebs on her underarms, almost as if she had small wings. The black hat on her head, decorated with lace, ruffles of fabric, dead flowers and shiny stones though it was covered in dust made sure to hide her eyes from mostly everyone. She looked at the Gambler with her big always weeping eyes, make up smeared from her eye down her face as if she had been crying recently. The biggest difference between her and his other female assistant was that this girl had white fur all over her body and the most noticeable thing about her was her perpetual frown.

Nevertheless, she spoke back to the smiling freak in front of her, "If you mean who I think you are referring to, I'll let you know that I already took it upon myself to do it."

The Gambler smiled widely at that answer and gently pinched her cheeks playfully, "Why aren't you just precious!"

She didn't smile back at him, she never did, but she did wonder what information could he hope to obtain from her 'little friends'.

* * *

At the capital city of China inside of the royal palace, two important men were discussing a matter that to one it was important and to the other it was just meaningless crap.

"I've received letters from you, warning me and my people about the dangers from that place, which I doubt it exists."

"With all due respect, it would be wise for you to accept my offer, General. They are a threat which needs to be stopped at once."

"Tzabar, even if it is real, what danger could they possibly be to us?"

The Golden jackal smirked and placed both of his hands behind his back, "Let me introduce you to a local mob boss, Lord Adesh: the main source of illegal trafficking in all of China."

Tied up with rope, and being dragged into the room by two of the jackal's men, was a barely dressed warthog, "You said there would be drunken women everywhere exposing their breasts to anyone who looked at them!" The boar demanded.

The jackal smiled and shook his head, "Opium, liquor, works of art, counterfeit works of art, foreign food and merchandise that competes against the empire's economy and, let's not forget, foreign people from the outside of China and releasing them inside to freely do whatever they please, even start a force of their own to overthrow the emperor himself. That's barely half of what he trades every day."

The general, a rhinoceros with really short temper but an even shorter amount of patience, studied the tied up warthog and doubted that everything the golden jackal had said was true, "There is no way one man can trade so much without anyone at the wall noticing it."

Tzabar never altered and explained, "Oh trust me, there are many ways to do it but he uses the only way that requires going under the wall."

"Can either one of you two scratch my nose? It's itchy!" The warthog interrupted but no one responded; the two men in front of him just kept on talking.

"You expect me to believe that an idiot like him does all of that?"

Tzabar smirked, "Have you heard of who the Dragon Warrior is?"

Silence at first.

The rhinoceros huffed in defeat, "Fine, just what do they want from the emperor and China?"

"That's just it" now the jackal's voice had turned serious as he paced around the room, "they want more than just this miniscule empire" he faced the general with stricken eyes and his voice began to deteriorate into a raspy sound, "they want the world at their mercy, General!"

The sudden image of the calm canine into an obsessed lunatic had made the rhino think twice about considering anything from this guy especially this conversation, "When I get evidence of any form of danger that came out of this Underground place, I will alert the emperor but for now, you're on your own."

Once again, calmed and relaxed, Tzabar spoke, "I understand, General. But if I may ask, are there any places in this city where people tend to go and stay for a long time, even days, weeks, months…"

He had to admit, that sounded like something someone not right of the head would ask. And what could he want with such a place? "You mean an inn?"

Tzabar looked out the window to see the many citizens going in and out of every establishment he could see doing whatever was that they were up to, "Maybe, but only if people that are never seen around these parts tend to go in and go out and visit constantly…"

"Hard to say, the imperial city is a tourist trap, many people travel far to visit, help the economy and leave once they're out of currency."

"Still, please, keep a lookout for me just in case if such a place appears right out of your plain sight." Tzabar said trying to sound as charming as possible.

"Will do." He said it just so this nut job would leave already.

Who did this bozo think he is? Coming to his city and giving orders? And then to tell him this made up story about a secret world? Ridiculous and he couldn't wait for the golden jackal to leave as soon as possible.

"Um, are any of you going to untie me?" Adesh said, which made the rhino look at him inquisitively.

Well, since he is a smuggler of illegal merchandise there was one option for the warthog. "Guards, take him to a cell."

The warthog frowned, "Aw, I was hoping to meet a few of those slutty concubines running around the palace!"

He was going to keep in mind what Tzabar had told him about a place where people constantly entered but never came out. Could there be such a place in the city and he never noticed before?

He then noticed something in the corner of the room and huffed in annoyance. It wasn't his job to keep this place clean, "Hey, and can a maid please come here? There are huge spider webs gathering dust!"

If only he would have paid more attention, he would have noticed the spider hiding from anyone's eyesight and beneath the closest furniture.

* * *

In the Hubei provinces, not very far from the Valley of Peace, two well-known kung fu warriors were witnessing in awe what lay before them. Monkey and Po were both investigating what had been occurring in the nearby outlying areas lately.

They noticed that there were plenty of broken crates filled with many different things each scattered by the sides of the dirt road. There were signs of battle but no bodies anywhere in sight.

"Looks like there was a fight for valuables and resources, don't you think?" Po concluded.

Master Monkey kept examining the scene around him, "If that's true then, why all of the crates are dispersed everywhere, with their content still in them?"

It didn't make sense, none of it. "It's like whoever was carrying their belongings just left them there and ran off."

"From what?" Monkey asked as he examined an object on the ground, it appeared to be a badge with a foreign design he wasn't familiar with but he understood the written words on the seal. _Resident of Dynophyta's Pillar, Occupation: merchant, gender: male_. Monkey read to himself.

Po on the other hand was looking around, hoping to find any signs of civilization. "Maybe someone who lives nearby knows something. They could tell us what's been going on."

"But there aren't any houses or villages near here, Po."

Both kung fu warriors looked straight ahead of the dirt road and noticed someone farther along taking things from broken crates, examining them and their content.

"Hey," Po yelled out, which made the stranger notice the two warriors, "Do you anything about what's been happening around these parts?"

The person, who was wearing a white cloak with a golden trim around the sleeves and down the back, drew his sword and took a stance and threatened the two warriors, "Don't come any closer."

Po then protested at the "We don't want trouble, we just want answers."

Their words were useless because the stranger charged forward, his sword pointed at the two warriors.

Both Monkey and Po evaded the barricade of swipes directed at them, they were even able to make their enemy draw back once they began fighting back at the assailant. Once it seemed that he wasn't going to win, the stranger pulled out a vial from within his clothing and smashed it against the ground, creating a huge smoke screen that engulfed him and his two opponents in a blurry barely visible place, allowing him to escape.

Both panda and golden langur got out of the smoke it was too late; the stranger was gone with no trace left behind.

"He got away!" Monkey cried out. How could he have allowed letting the only lead in the big mystery of the killings escape? He lowered his head in shame at his failure but in doing so he noticed yet something else lying on the ground: a business card. Thinking this could be a helpful clue, the simian took it and read it. _Miss Xinla's Dating Services: true love is just one hissy fit away?_

Monkey scratched his head in confusion. Just what exactly was going on in these provinces? He then looked at where his panda friend was and his jaw dropped as the big mammal was scarfing down on something from a broken crate on the side of the road.

"Po, what are you doing?"

"This stuff is amazing!" Po replied muffled with his mouth full, "We need to bring a bunch of these back to the valley!"

Monkey looked closer to what his friend was eating, a round yellow, with bumpy spikes all over and blue polka dots covered it, fruit, "Po, I don't think we should-" in that moment, Po had shoved one of those strange produce and took a bite out surprise and the reaction he received was astounding, he had never tasted something so sweet and tangy at the same time that tasted this good. "Whoa, this stuff is amazing!"

"I told ya!" Po said taking a crate full of the new fruit and smirking back at Monkey, "It would be wrong of us not to share these with everyone else!"

The simian thought about but he really did like this new delicacy, "Well, I see no harm in just taking a few."

* * *

The blaze was intense and the heat was overwhelming. It wasn't because of cooking all day long in a hot kitchen. The reason why the rabbit chef was feeling the way she was could be blamed on her feelings towards a certain cheetah she was starting to miss and whose presence she desired.

"Oh Lan Se, if only you were here!" She said to herself as she placed her palm against her chest, letting the warmth she felt take over and blushed.

The heat she felt became more intense as she thought of the tall, slim and yet muscular feline. As distant as he may be at times, the male cat always made her feel well and heartfelt.

Then, as she placed a dirty pot in the wash sink, she heard a few faint screams of distress coming from outside and, as the curious person that she is, she rushed out of the noodle shop and looked for whatever was causing the unknown chaos.

Following the crowd the rabbit finally noticed the rising smoke and the source, a flame engulfed house, surrounded by scared villagers watching hopelessly as the fire unforgivingly devoured the building down to the ground.

Frankie went to whoever was closest to her and with a bit of distress she asked what everyone else was questioning, "What happened?"

The pig simply shook her head and replied, "I don't know. I saw the smoke and came running here as fast as we could."

Then another one of the villagers in the crowd pointed at the group of warriors on their way to the burning building, "Oh, the Furious Five are already on the job!"

And everyone cheered as they saw their protectors valiantly coming to do their job but quieted down as they entered the burning place hoping no one was harmed.

Then, out of the flames, Tigress had pulled out an unconscious man, covered in soot, out of the scorching structure.

Frankie approached the striped feline, "Master Tigress, how many people are still trapped inside?"

The tiger master coughed as she tried to control her breathing, "From what the neighbor told me: a family of five rabbits lives here and we have four of them safe outside." The rabbit noticed that the rest of the Five (Viper, Mantis and Crane) had already pulled out three other either unconscious or frightened rabbits also covered in ash and soot.

The man Tigress saved regain consciousness and spoke, "My daughter is still inside!"

But before any of the Furious Five could spring into action or could do anything at all the building gave in and collapsed on the ground as the flames appropriated the remains.

* * *

Up at the Jade Palace brother and sister were conversing at the barracks about personal matters.

"I just don't know what to do. I want him near me but… I don't know, I think I've been sending him the wrong signals."

The male lion just look solemnly at his sister, "Then maybe some time apart will do you two some good."

Naki released a whining sound, she dropped her shoulders and lowered her head, "But I don't want to be away from him, Jagter."

Her brother sat next to her and placed a reassuring hand on her slumping shoulder, "I know you don't; I've seen the way both of you spend your time together."

"That reminds me." She then pinched her brother's hand, which made him yelp and remove his paw out of his sister's reach, and she gave him an annoyed, yet serious, look in return, "Stop spying on me!"

"It's not my fault mother and father told me to look over my little sister." Jagter protested rather lamely keeping his distance from her.

Listening to her brother mention her parents made Naki remember the reason why she feared her parents' return, "Do you think they'll approve of me and Arc, you know, being together?"

The male in the room looked at her sympathetically, "Well, maybe mother will approve of him, after all, she does allow him near you."

She then bit her bottom lip, "What about dad?"

Jagter scratched the back of his head and replied with a grin, "Believe it or not, I once asked him about how he felt about Arc."

That actually made her ears prick up, "Really? What did he say, you know, besides that there is something wrong with Arc?"

"Then there is nothing else I can say!"

She was hoping to know if her father had anything positive to say about the archeologist. "Did the letter say that they were bringing _everyone_?"

He shook his head, "It didn't say that it just said that they were coming to see how we are doing." Jagter then looked at his younger sister with a saddened look, "You miss them a lot, don't you?"

"You mean, you don't?"

"Of course I miss everyone but we're here to keep an eye on someone who mother fears will be abused."

Naki then looked worried as she realized something, "What would happen if Master Shifu does in fact harm Tai, or Xue Zai, whatever his name is?"

Jagter's face turned serious like it always is in front of anyone else other than one of his family members, "Mother said to take Tai as far away from him and father said the same thing, except he added the part where I kill Shifu."

Naki was still unsure about certain things, things that she had witnessed on her time in the Jade Palace, "Do you think he might be on to us?" Before her brother could respond after he arched a brow, she explained herself, "Mom described him as a cruel and evil man who abused and abandoned Tai and yet he seems to try his hardest to please him and make him happy."

Her brother stood up, walked to the wall opposite to his bed and leaned against it, "Maybe instead of focusing on Shifu so much, we should also inspect Tai as well."

"What if it's all just an act of Shifu, being all nice and caring?" She asked.

Jagter looked at her intently and answered, "Then we'll have to be extra careful."

There was no doubt that she feared what would happen if Shifu discovered their purpose for being there and harmed them but it also reminded of another reason why the red panda as so hated in The Underground, "Do you think the story of that woman is true, you know, the healer?"

He remembered the stories his parents told him about that poor woman who had done nothing more than good deeds in her life as well as the part where the old master stepped in her life, "Shifu wouldn't be so hated if it weren't true, now would it?" He wanted to reassure his sister by any means, especially since he knew how much smitten she was with the archeologist, "If it makes you feel better, I'll hang out with Arc for a while, get to know him better and see if he has good intentions concerning you."

"Just don't physically hurt him." She joked but she feared that he might.

He smirked at her, "I can't promise that!" But I can promise to find out something about what goes on in that hollow head of his!"

"If you do, tell me; it'll be interesting watching you translating everything you're able to pull out of Arc!"

"It can't be that strange, can it?"

She smiled and shook her head at how her brother could be so mature yet so naive, "You have no idea what's in store for you!"

Jagter then felt a breeze and the smell made him bolt to the window and that's when he noticed the black cloud rising from the village bellow, "Is that…" Naki stood and looked out the window as well and finished his statement, "It's smoke!"

Without another word, the two of them exited the barracks and went to investigate what was happening.

* * *

When both brother and sister finally made it all the way down to the valley and reached the source of the smoke, the fire had engulfed the entire house, leaving nothing but ash, burned rubble and remains of what was once the home of a family.

Naki noticed the rabbit chef, "Frankie, what happened here?"

Frankie, through sobs and tears, answered her, "The house burned down… and a teenage girl was still inside."

The rabbit chef left the scene and wandered back to the Jade Palace and locked herself in her guest room as she tried very hard not to cry or to weep loud enough for others to hear her.

Once she had heard what happened, Frankie knew that it was her fault that the girl had lost her life in the fire. Why? Because it has happened so many times: she couldn't control her emotions and her food killed the customers who ingested them.

It was just like every other time. Her emotions had harmed others through what she loved doing the most, which is cooking.

According to what the father of the girl told the rabbit chef is that he and his family went to sample Frankie's fine cuisine after all of the praises every villager kept giving to her banquets. They had enjoyed very much their orders, especially the teenage girl, who seemed to have enjoyed it too much to be in public as she began to breathe loudly almost in spasms as a sudden surge of heat had taken over her. That led to her going back to her home to bathe in the bathhouse, right behind the family's home, hoping the water would sooth the warmth building inside of her by every passing second. The family had no idea what started the fire but Frankie, or at least, she assumed it as she knew what had taken over the teenage girl and what her reaction must have been like.

Bathing was a great way to avoid being hot but it didn't seem to work, the heat just became more intense especially when the girl began to run her hands along her wet body in the hopes of calming her urges. Soon, the warmness of her being became too strong that she began to release moans and, to anyone's surprise, the wall caught on fire as she placed a hand on it for support, but she didn't move or run away, she just stood there enjoying the wonderful effect that her body was experiencing as it possessed her with such a powerful feeling; she didn't wanted that amazing sensation to go away. It didn't take long for the flames to engulf the entire bathhouse, spread to the house and burn it down as well.

Frankie had killed someone once more because of her cooking and because of her emotions and as she wept in the safety of the guest room she had no idea she was being watched.

Then a voice came from the doorway, "What has gotten you so under the weather, Frankie?"

The rabbit looked and noticed her friend standing there looking concerned at her, "Zoi, you're back already!" She didn't want to answer her question so she tried to evade it, "How's your son doing?"

"Kaito is well. The doctors tell me he might be able to check out pretty soon." But Zoi could tell that the rabbit was hiding something from her, "Why were you crying?"

The chef couldn't hold it in any longer, "Oh Zoi," she wiped her tears against her white gown, "I did it again!" Zoi approached her and caressed her arm, knowing what must have occurred to get the girl so upset, "I couldn't control myself and my cooking burned down a house and killed someone along with it!" Frankie then looked at the raccoon right in the eyes, "I don't know what to do. I can't do anything good without destroying lives!"

"Don't be too hard on yourself, she could have exited the bathhouse any moment but chose to stay." Zoi tried to comfort her.

_What the- how does she know that?_ Frankie could never get used to how the raccoon is able to obtain information no one else can so quickly.

"Besides, did you not burn down an entire inn a few weeks ago?" Zoi said attempting to bring up the rabbit's spirit.

Frankie protested, "That was different and I'm not in the mood for an interview, Zoi, why do you want to speak with me?"

The rabbit knew that the reporter would never stay away from her child unless there was a purpose to it.

She almost laughed as she said the first sentence "Is it wrong for a woman for wanting to have a conversation with her friend? I came here to inform you of what has been occurring near these provinces lately." Zoi then held her hand rather protectively, "The train tracks in Dynophyta's Pillar are under repair, they were destroyed, and 'undergrounders' need to transport their products and necessities through the surface and, to their misfortune, Abettors are patrolling many places in China, for reasons I am still not aware of."

The rabbit didn't know what to say. All of a sudden her sadness melted away by fear of what the raccoon had just told her.

"Frankie, it is dangerous in the surface. You need to go back to The Underground or they will find you and will discover how you manage to travel so far without being seen in the surface by anyone."

That made the rabbit jump, "Are they coming to this valley?"

"That is what a certain _jackal_ is planning." Zoi answered.

_No, it couldn't be, could it?_ Frankie understood what Zoi meant and her face paled at hearing it. The worst possible person in the world was going to visit the place where she was located, "_He_ is on his way here?"

"I am sure of it, though it might take him a while to get here."

Frankie jumped to her feet and was ready to run down to the valley, "Then we have to warn Arc, Tai and everyone else!"

But Zoi stopped her.

"No, as long as attention is not drawn to this valley, the Abettors will come and leave just like that. Do not cause a scene or that will provoke some reactions and they _will_ start to investigate."

Fear filled her and all she could do was hope for things to go well but the rabbit knew that she wasn't going to just sit there and let Tzabar and his troops arrive with her still in the middle of the valley. No, she was going to leave immediately and as soon as possible. "Let's just hope no one brings that kind of attention here."

* * *

"Everyone, come taste what Monkey and I found!" Po shouted to the rest of the Five who were all having lunch at the noodle shop but stopped enjoying their meal to see what their two friends had brought after they had been missing in action all day.

"Where were you guys all day? And what is that thing?" Viper asked as she wrapped her coils around the funny looking fruit.

"We were checking out the disturbances and we discovered these… yeah, we don't know but they taste awesome!" Po said enthusiastically and took a bite out of one he was halfway eating.

Mantis examined the fruits closer and tapped one with his pincers, "I wonder what these could be."

Then a certain lion came and answered their question, "Ooh, a piny pome!"

Everyone noticed Arc taking one of those fruits and he looked ecstatic about them.

"Is that how they are called?" Po asked through muffled bites.

Arc then noticed the sack full of the spikey fruit and his face turned blank as a big question mark grew in his mind, "I wonder where you guys could have found these in China?"

"They were just lying around!" Po answered before Monkey did. Knowing that if they knew any other details about how they came to find the yummy snack they probably wouldn't be able to eat them out of suspicion. But it tasted so good that Po wanted as many people to enjoy the flavors this new fruit had to offer, "We should share them with the whole valley, maybe even plant a few seeds here and there."

"I don't think you should." Arc protested with a raised brow, his face showing concern, the second the giant panda had suggested his idea.

Po dismissed the lion's words, "What's the worst that can happen?"

As much as Arc wanted to warn the panda about the dangers of a fruit that is well known only in The Underground to have certain chemicals that are used mostly in medicines and potions, especially body enhancement potions, he had no right in stepping between anyone's dreams and goals. The lion simply wished that things don't get too out of hand and that no one outside the valley finds out about that there are piny pomes in the Valley of Peace. So he gave a warm smile to the panda, "Oh well, I can't stop a guy from following his dreams."

Then Monkey finally noticed that a house was missing and in its place was rubble and ash.

"What happened here?"

"A house caught on fire and most everyone escaped alive." Tigress explained.

"Did anyone die?" Po asked a bit distressed.

This time Crane was the one who spoke, his head lowered as he delivered the bad news, "Just one person: a teenage girl, everyone else got away unharmed, though they are grieving at their loss." It was truly sad to hear that, especially since they were the protectors of the valley and yet they couldn't save one person in time, "The source of the fire is still unknown."

Po looked around inside the noodle shop and saw his father cooking and working in the kitchen, who stopped what he was doing to greet his son, but he didn't notice a certain white rabbit anywhere, "And where did Frankie go?"

Ping left the kitchen, once he noticed his son, and explained to him and everyone else, "She left; she just left and hasn't returned."

They did not question where the rabbit could have gone to or why because of the noise coming from outside of the shop and the crowd of people walking in the same direction out on the street.

"What is all the commotion outside?" Tigress asked.

The Five and Po followed the multitude and ended up in front of a building which everyone seemed to be staring at and paying way too much attention, even some of the Workshop kids were there doing exactly what the rest of the crowd was undertaking.

"What are they looking at?" Tigress' voice got lodged up in her throat as she noticed what had made the citizens gather around the building and it made grip her fists and grit her teeth, "That better not be what I think it is!"

Not only was Alvar there but he had painted a crude picture of the female tiger on the side of a white building but the reason why Tigress was blushing of embarrassment and filled with burning rage at the same time was the fact that the black feline had portrayed her without any clothes, worst of all was the position in which he depicted her in the image.

The female tiger approached the panther, who was too busy painting to notice the enraged tiger, with her claws unsheathed, eyes burning with hatred, and she spoke to him in a very low yet threatening tone through gritted teeth, "Alvar, what the hell is this?!"

The panther turned around and his face lit up seeing the person he was trying to impress, "Ah, Tigress, I'm glad you showed up! It's for you!" He then gestured at his masterpiece, "Do you like it?"

"Like it!?" the words came off as incredulous and then she burst in anger, "You displayed our one moment of private passion for everyone to see it and why did you have to paint an arrow pointing right at my, my…"

"Cooch!" Ralix finished.

"Yes, that!" Tigress was trying her best not to lose her temper all together. But then Xovius spoke and explained the detail she had mistaken for something else.

"That's not an arrow, that's Alvar's schlong about to plow you!"

Tigress lost it and threw herself at the panther in rage. She wanted to rip his limbs apart, to make him suffer so he never bothers her again. The striped feline didn't care that the citizens of the valley were witnessing her rage burst on the panther man.

Wen who was watching the beat down from the sidelines shaking her head, "This is the last time I give someone dating tips."

Monkey listened to her, finding out just whose idea was it to have the panther make a mural, he searched his pockets and pulled out the business card he had found earlier that day, "Hey, well I found this on the ground earlier, maybe it could help him."

The vixen took the card, read it and thought it over, "Huh, maybe this Xinla lady has what it takes to do the impossible!" She then realized something else, "Wait, you actually want your leader to date a weird, nymphomaniac panther who talks to himself?"

Monkey just smirked, "You make it sound like a bad thing."

Then a loud crash was heard courtesy of Tigress slamming the male cat to the ground.

Wen then comprehended what the langur actually meant, if he really did, "It would be better if those two loved each other for the sake of the valley!"

"Does that mean you don't like my painting of you, Tigress?" Alvar asked the approaching tiger with big sad eyes only to get punched mercilessly in the face and to make things worse, Xovius spoke next.

"You bitch; he spent the whole day painting this, especially adding the very little details of your open vagina!"

The fists just kept coming and coming.

Gongju backed away from the center of the crowd and the beating, knowing the dangers of being surrounded by tall stomping individuals and searched for his wheelchair he had left resting against a wall. Unfortunately, the people surrounding him moved around and made him tumble on the floor and a loud ripping sound was heard. The boy looked down to his trousers and noticed they had a huge tear. "How am I going to get new pants to fit me at this time?"

Monkey, who had witnessed the boy's fall came to his aid, helped him to his chair and offered to help him with his sudden clothing problem, "Why don't you head to the Jade Palace, I'm pretty sure there must be something that'll fit you in my room!"

"Oh, thank you, Master Monkey! Is there any way I can repay you?"

The langur waved it off, "Don't worry about it just go and get dressed!"

The boy nodded, hugged the simian and off the snow leopard went to the Jade Palace in search for new pants.

Viper slithered to the langur's side, smiling at him, "That was nice of you, I didn't knew you had such a soft spot for children!"

"I guess I do!" Monkey agreed with a nod.

In the background Alvar was thrown against the side of a house. "Is it because I didn't painted your breasts bigger than what they really are?"

* * *

Frankie had packed up her belongings, which weren't much to begin with, and was heading back to the old farm in order to return to The Underground. Pierre must be overbooked without her help for so long and she really needed to see how well the new employees did while she was away.

Though, the real reason she was leaving the Valley of Peace, and not even waiting for Lan Se to arrive, was because of what her emotions combined with her cooking had done. Not only did she ruin the lives of a family but she took a life as well. The rabbit never allowed, or at least tried, not to let negative emotions and feelings get in the way of her job, only good ones, but seeing the damage even a positive emotion like love can do she wasn't going to overstay her welcome.

"Miss Frankie French Fry," Mr. Ping called out to her as he ran to her side with a worried expression, "you are leaving?"

The rabbit girl didn't know how to respond to him especially after how nice he had been to her, "Um, I, yes, Mr. Ping, I, I don't feel, I feel sick." It wasn't a lie. Sure she wanted to leave because of what her cooking had done but that was exactly how she felt about it.

"Well I have some herbs for that, you don't have to leave."

Frankie shook her head from side to side as she opposed the bird's kindness, "I'm sorry, but I do."

With no further words exchanged, she sprinted away from the goose and away from the valley itself, going back to her restaurant in the city of Gibaria in The Underground, deciding to take the route beneath the abandoned farmhouse.

Ping would have gone after her but he was stopped by a smooth yet cold voice that he recognized coming from behind him, "Let her go, Mr. Ping, she has a lot to think about."

"Oh, Miss Zenigata, when did you arrive?"

"Today." She answered with disdain.

"Well I hope you had a good trip. I've heard that there are gypsies committing murders on the provinces near this valley.

She finally smiled at him, "You do not need to worry about me, Mr. Ping; I can take care of myself!"

"Why have you come back, may I ask?"

"There is something I still have to take care of and there is barely enough time for me to do it so with all due respect, Mr. Ping, I need to accomplish that." She tried to be as courteous as she could like always.

The goose raised a brow and spoke once she finished talking, "Does it involve Master Shifu, by any chance?"

To that her smile faded but returned with a somewhat charming expression and she answered his question with a fake sweet tone, "Oh, Mr. Ping, just keep making your noodles and stay in your place because you do not wish to cross any paths involving a certain red panda while I am around."

He took a step forward to the reporter, "He's my son's teacher, of course I'm going to get involved."

Little did he know that he had just provoked the last person he should have ever threaten in any way.

She chuckled once, "Son." As if it were a comical word or a punch line to a joke she smiled thinly and turned to face the old goose, her words cold and soulless, "You are just like every other person in this world: just another poor unfortunate soul, longing for something even if it is incredulous."

Those words surprised him, she didn't seem like a mean person to say such things, but she did and they scared him to the core as he looked directly at her. The raccoon then strode forward towards the now nervous bird, who actually took a step back away from her until she stopped right in front of him, towering over him. As if she wasn't scary enough approaching him, she spoke afterwards with words even colder and unforgivable than earlier.

"Your son, Po, is not related to you, and you know that, does he?" She began to circle around him like if he were her prey, "You wish him to take over the family business," she stopped and spoke with a fake sympathetic tone, mocking him and his family, "hoping one day he has the 'noodle dream'," she began to circle around him once more and Ping sworn the world began to spin as she did, "and to continue your legacy…" Zoi finally stopped right in front of him and stared back at his eyes with soulless, empty cold eyes, "Now, let me tell you the reality:" she leaned closer to him, "he is not your son, he does not care about noodles, he only cares about kung fu and himself." Her words became harsher and louder as each word progressed, "He… does not… _care_… about you!"

The goose didn't reply he just stared at her flabbergasted as his beak hung open. He was angry, of course, that someone would say such horrible things about him and his son, but deep down he feared that she was right; he feared he believed her words.

With nothing to say, Mr. Ping stepped back from the raccoon and turned away into the safety of his home, his noodle shop as if what just occurred never happened.

Zoi, on the other hand, smirked in victory witnessing the old man's retreat. She then turned her attention to the Jade Palace sitting on top of the mountain and crossed her arms in satisfaction. "And so it begins, Shifu!"

She then turned to proceed with her plans until she noticed a certain brown rabbit at the flower shop.

_Yun Ma? So this is where she ran off to._

* * *

After a long day of explaining his past with the Workshop and building a bridge, both Arc and Tai Lung were resting on their beds. Laying soundlessly, staring at the roof, enjoying the peaceful silence and fresh air of the open window.

Then the lion turned his attention to the cub on his bed, "Are we ever going on that trip?"

That actually surprised the snow leopard and with a questioning expression he roused, "You want to go to Zola instead of cuddling with Naki in the winter?"

Arc didn't reply he just looked back at the ceiling and sighed.

"Go talk to her." Tai Lung pressured on.

But apparently, Arc's mind was already set, "No, I think what we need is some time apart and helping you reach Zola is a good excuse."

Before Tai Lung could even offer advice on the matter the shy cougar entered their room.

"Hey, Arc, Gongju wanted to let you know that he heard news from The Underground that the railroad in Dynophyta's Pillar is currently out of order. Apparently, it's damaged and the highest authorities down below our very feet want to repair the problem as soon as possible. Word got around that we were in the Valley of Peace and they decided that we should give a look around the wreckage and see if we can fix it."

"What happened to the tracks?" Arc asked with lots of interest. He knew how well made and the high level maintenance they endure each day so to hear such a thing was very surprising.

Penpal explained all he knew about the matter, "The railroad switches were all sabotaged somehow and it caused a crash between many locomotives and since they are well anchored to the rails the tracks also need to be fixed or replaced with new ones. We have to fix it as soon as possible so no one from The Underground takes an alternate route through the surface."

Arc then realized something and he smiled with joy. "We can lead you there in a faster way than having to travel to the capital city."

Tai Lung knew the by 'we', the lion meant himself and the cub.

Penpal's face lit up, "Really? You found another entrance to The Underground!"

The lion nodded.

"That's great!" the cougar couldn't wait to tell Gongju about the fact that the lion knew a shortcut, "Alright, we're leaving tomorrow so gather your belongings, clean up whatever mess you made and rest up. That's what Gongju always tells Ralix!"

The cougar exited the room and ran off to tell his friends about the wonderful news, especially that Arc and Xue Zai were joining them.

Finally, Tai Lung would get the chance to go back to The Underground and Arc could guide him to the place he has been obsessing about for the last few months in order to find any clues of the Patient One and Gongju hasn't exactly revealed anything that states him as the ghost child.

Lei.

_Maybe it's time to let him go… maybe I was just being delusional… like always_. Tai Lung thought as sorrow filled him and as images started to appear in his head, especially memories of what had occurred during these last few months.

"Arc," the lion turned his attention to the cub, "remember the day when you reunited with the Workshop?"

"I do, to every last detail." Arc replied.

"Remember when you called me a big boy?" That was something that had been bothering him for a while and he wanted to be at ease, "What did you mean by that?"

"I've heard you talk in your sleep and you do it with both fear and frustration. What I meant by it is that… well, you're stronger than any boy I've ever met. Comparing you to everything you've gone through, well, it's easy to say that you're a big boy 'cause little boys wouldn't be able to keep going like you have."

Tai Lung smiled, a sense of relief entering him knowing that his secret was safe. Feeling all of a sudden joyful, he joked around with the lion, "And I can honestly say that you're a little boy in a big boy's body!"

To his surprise, Arc agreed with him, "I guess you're right on that one!" Then he placed a finger to his bottom lip, thinking of something, "Do you think Naki would prefer me as a more mature guy?"

_Now he's interested in her again?_ "No way, if she doesn't like for who you are than you're better off with someone else. Don't ever stop being who you are, Arc, you childish cat!"

The lion smiled and laid back on the bed and smiled joyfully like he always did, "Well you know what they say: as long as you're with me, you'll always have someone with _the heart of a child_!"

He felt safe around the archeologist, enough that Tai Lung felt that it wouldn't be an inconvenience withholding the truth about his identity to him. He had thought about it but was too afraid to be rejected to do it.

Tai Lung breathed in and out and calmed every fiber in his being, "Um, Arc, can you keep a secret?"

Arc turned his head to the cub, "Besides your tattoo?"

"Yes and this one you have to promise to keep to yourself."

"Can I tell Naki?" Arc asked with those big innocent eyes of his.

Most of the time that actually had an effect on Tai Lung but this time. He needed to fully trust the archeologist, "No, you can't tell anyone!"

Arc sat up and sighed, "Alright, if it's that important I'll keep it to myself."

Tai Lung crept closer to the lion as a sign that he trusted him and placed a hand on the teenager's arm, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm, I," Of course, he wasn't able to come out with, not because he was afraid of revealing the truth, but because he felt something on the lion's arm and it was his flesh and fur. His armor was gone and he was feeling what had always been beneath it: Arc's arm. He needed to use this moment to his advantage, after all, he was really curious to see the lion's exposed limbs, "I'm cold, can I borrow your shirt?"

Arc blinked in confusion, "Uh, sure." He began to pull his arms out of the sleeves and that's when Arc's eyes widened as he realized what he almost did, "On second thought, why don't I get you a blanket?"

Tai Lung then pounced on the lion and pulled on the long sleeves, trying to take it off by force, "Give me your shirt!"

"No!" Arc protested as he pulled away from the cub. Then he heard the sleeves beginning to rip, "Stop, you're going to tear it!"

It was too late, though. The sleeves ripped apart from the shirt and both felines flew away to opposite sides of the room.

Tai Lung gathered himself quickly in order to get a glimpse of the lion's bare arms and what he saw was more than what he bargained for. His eyes widened and his jaw hung a bit open as he stared at the unique arms of the archeologist.

"Whoa…" It was all that left Tai Lung's mouth; Arc's secret truly was something to be amazed at. He had never seen arms like his, especially with the markings they were decorated with that he doubted that they weren't a natural physical thing, "Are those real?"

Arc didn't respond, he just looked beneath his bed and pulled out two metallic bracelets. He placed one first all the way to his left arm and rotated it, which made the rest of the armor to descend and cover his arm down to the wrist. He repeated the same thing with his right arm just as quickly making sure not to leave his limbs exposed a second longer.

Tai Lung just let out an annoyed bark of laughter seeing, "So you _can_ take them off!"

"Don't tell anyone!" Arc pleaded giving a frightened look to the child.

"Fine, I won't but what is the big deal?" Tai Lung huffed, "So you have tattoos on your arms, big whoop!"

Arc just looked at the cub with a bit of fear in his features as he tried to conceal his armored arms even further by grasping his forearms. The lion didn't spoke he just stared back at the snow leopard who realized the matter of the situation.

Tai Lung's eyes grew wide in amazement, "They _are_ real!"

Arc simply grabbed fistfuls of his mane and ducked down, "Oh geez, I knew I should have just bathed with _them_ on!"

There was something the snow leopard didn't understand, "Arc, you wiggle your wang everywhere, why are you so shy about your arms?"

Then, all of a sudden, Arc looked at him with the scariest expression Tai Lung could have ever witnessed from the archeologist and cried out his explanation at the top of his lungs, "They're the reason why I can't and never will have a normal and peaceful life, that's why!"

And with that, Arc ran off out of the barracks. Tai Lung followed after him.

* * *

_A few minutes earlier._

Master Shifu strode along the hallway of the barracks. Not because he wanted to inspect the rooms but he saw a certain snow leopard walk, well, limp, in holding his pants up and followed him.

He was amazed by the boy especially after hearing, well eavesdropping, the story of how the Workshop members met and how the boy solely orchestrated a flawless master plan. The red panda saw that the door to Master Monkey's room was open and checked if the boy was indeed there and he was.

"Gongju, did you lose something?" He joked.

The boy jumped hearing the husky voice of the red panda, "Master Shifu! Uh, no, my pants ripped open," he showed the large rip as he held up his pants, "and Master Monkey said he would lend me one of his."

"Where is Master Monkey?"

The boy scratched the back of his head as he gave an apologetic look, "Still checking out Master Tigress' mural!"

I hope that has nothing to do with that damn panther. "Come," the red panda took the boy by the hand and took him to another room, one he had to unlock, and searched through drawers until he found what he was looking for: a pair of indigo pants about the same size of Gongju.

"Try this on." The old master said as he handed the pants to the boy and the cub graciously thanked him. Before Shifu could give the boy some privacy, Gongju dropped his pants right in front of the red panda and began putting on the new one, even though they are quite old.

He could hardly believe it, Gongju was a spitting image of _him_. Shifu was able to see any difference between the boy in front of him and the one he used to have a long time ago and there was no difference between their physical appearances.

He thought it could all be just pure coincidence after all, Xue Zai looked exactly like Gongju as well so maybe he had nothing to worry about. However, when the snow leopard had unclothed, Shifu noticed weights tied around the boy's ankles.

"Ah, a perfect fit!" The boy's words broke the red panda's reverie and stared at the child wearing the indigo pants.

Shifu's eyes widened seeing the boy wearing the pant that once belonged to his own ward at that age and felt a sudden pain inside of him as he smiled, yet with sadness in his eyes, in return to the child's thankful face.

"Just exactly why do you need new pants?" The old man asked.

"I'm leaving tomorrow to do a job with my team."

"You're leaving? But we're in the winter season and it will snow any day now." The red panda didn't wanted the boy to leave at all actually, he had grown fond of him and now he was leaving during harsh times to travel.

The boy gave the man a sad smile, "With all due respect, Master Shifu, I have a duty and I am obliged to follow them."

He understood where the boy was coming from and he had to respect it, "Where exactly will you and your team be traveling?"

There was no way Gongju was going to reveal the whereabouts of their destination to someone who probably isn't aware of the existence of The Underground, "Far away from the Valley of Peace."

He was bummed that he didn't receive the answer he was looking for but he still wished to help, "Well, allow me to give you all the necessary supplies for your trip."

Once again, Gongju was very appreciative of the man's kindness towards him, "I appreciate it, thank you!"

Then they both heard Arc's voice yelling at whoever he was directing his frustration. They peeked out at the hallway and saw Arc running out of the barracks and Xue Zai running after him.

Both Master Shifu and Gongju walked out to the hallway, except the latter who unfolded his chair and used it to move, to see what was going on.

"Arc, wait!" Tai Lung cried out to his friend but stopped on his tracks when he noticed Gongju wearing his old pants when he was that age. "Uh, they look good on you."

"Thanks, are these yours?" The taller snow leopard asked the cub.

"They were…" He answered with a sad face but soon realized who was there with them and tried to cover up his mistake, "…once I grow in to them, I meant!"

"Ready for the trip?" Gongju asked the younger snow leopard.

Shifu, on the other hand, raised a brow and stepped in between the boys, his attention directed at his ward, "Trip? You're going with him on this pilgrimage?"

Gongju answered for the cub in a way he hoped would get Xue Zai out of the master's leash, "Don't worry, I'll keep him safe and if I can't keep a watchful eye I'm sure Arc wouldn't let anything harm your son."

"As much as I appreciate you trying to protect Xue Zai, Tai Lung, he is grounded and he will not be traveling anywhere anytime soon."

Both snow leopards raised their brows and looked at the red panda in confusion.

The old master noticed it and asked in complete unawareness of what he did, "Is something wrong?"

Gongju was the one to answer him, "You called _me_ Tai Lung."

Shifu had no words to explain himself other than the fact that he had confused the crippled feline with his former ward. He just stood there speechless, not knowing what else to say.

Tai Lung, the real one, was trying to keep his thoughts to himself. _That traitorous son of a bitch wants to replace me yet again! _But he sucked it up. There was a more important matter he needed to take care of first, "I'll go check on Arc if he's ok."

Gongju didn't spoke for a few minutes until he decided that he had to get a move on, "Thank you again for the pants, Master Shifu!"

The boy bowed properly and propelled his wheelchair towards the exit.

Master Shifu smiled at the boy, "It was my pleasure, Tai-" he bit back, closed his eyes, took a big breath to center himself and finished his statement, "Gongju."

The boy on the chair stopped in his tracks, looked over his shoulder and spoke in a merciful manner, "You know, if you missed him this much, you should have at least visited him once."

Once the boy was out of the barracks, Shifu was still standing in the same spot. Apparently, the universe wasn't going to let him forget about his past.

* * *

In the Hubei provinces, not very away from the Valley of Peace, were three men, a dhole, a pig and a gorilla, were inspecting the area where tons of crates with valuable merchandise.

Not that far off to them were two familiar people watching the three individuals behind a bush, "See that, that's what we have to lure."

Cinpronio visibly gulped, "They look rather strong." He looked at Lian's confident face, "How do you know these are Abettors; they look like regular blokes in military wear."

Speaking of clothes, the sack he was given earlier contained just that and he was wearing them at the moment. Apparently, Gambler had an issue with the flamingo's sense of style and gave him a black vest and normal silk pants so as not to wear that dance belt anymore.

Lian kept licking the edges of her swirly pink lollipop, "They follow the commands of the leader of the Abettors. So, yes, I can tell these are our target."

The female stood up and approached the gorilla who was the closest out of the trio.

"Lian, wait, they seem dangerous!" Cinprinio warned with a barely audible

"Hold it right there, missy!"

"Oh, but I have something to show you _and_ your friends!"

"What is it?"

She stopped licking the rim of her candy and gave a fast transversal swipe at the pachyderm's abdominal region.

The bovine just stood there for a few seconds without realizing what had just happened and then he looked down and noticed a huge horizontal gash on his belly, bleeding and spilling out his intestines to the ground. He then finally looked up, with a startled expression, at the cat spinning her lollipop with her fingers. After spending so much time licking the edges she had turned her treat into a sharp and deadly weapon, though she licked it happily even if it was coated with blood as the large man lumped on the ground to his wait for death.

"Hey, you!" The giant muscular ape shouted to the feline walking towards him and warning the other two men about her. The huge mammal charged an axe, he wasn't going to ask question because he wasn't ordered to.

Lian simply ducked before the blade sliced her and jumped up, once it was out of her way to strike at the gorilla's throat with her sharp candy, breaking it in the process, leaving half of the now broken hard treat inside the blood spurting wound, as he fell to the ground clutching at his neck to, uselessly, try and stop the bleeding, and used sharp point of the shattered sweet and plunged it deeply in the incoming dhole's forehead that the only part visible of the lollipop was the thin wooden stick.

The female yellow feline smirked at her handiwork as the dhole writhed on the ground until he finally stopped moving.

She called out with a musical fashion, "Cinpronio, you can come out now."

The bird came out of his hiding spot, "Uh, what now?"

She pulled out a knife and handed it to the nervous flamingo. "If you had a knife, why did you use a lollipop?"

She giggled and patted him on the head, "Oh, you're cute!" She then pointed at the dead men, "Now, cut them open and pull out their innards."

"What?" Was all the flamingo could say.

"And I will stitch them back up. It's all part of the plan!" Lian finished.

Just what does that freak want from all of this? What can the Gambler gain from this? Whether Cinpronio liked it or not he feared what would happen to him if he backed out and with no way out he did as he was told.

* * *

Back at the Valley of Peace.

Arc sat at the edge of the very top step of the Jade Mountain staring at the umber sky.

He had been discovered. Found out. How was he going to hide it anymore? It was better to just come out with it, at least that's what he thought, and he could use the journey he had promised Tai to Zola as a way to evade everyone else.

He pulled out a vial hidden beneath his sash, uncorked it and drank its contents. _There, now I can go to her!_

He sure was lucky that Po and Monkey had brought piny pomes from wherever they were. It was the main ingredient of the potion he just drank. He just hoped that Monkey and Po were more careful with the supply of fruit they brought. _Where exactly could they have found the fruit since it only grows in…?_

"Arc," the lion turned his head and saw it was Tai, "can we talk?" The boy didn't get a reply but he was hoping to set things right, "Listen, I'm not going to expose you if that's what you fear?"

Arc was silent for a while until he returned a small, yet troubled, smile at the cub, "I would appreciate it if you keep what you saw a secret."

"Even from Naki." Tai Lung said with confirmation.

"Especially her!" Arc said in agreement.

There was still something that bothered the snow leopard, "What's the big deal? So what if you have those things on one arm and those other markings on the other? If she cares about you she'll put that aside."

That reminded Tai Lung of a few things the lion had allowed to slip through his lips time and time again. All of a sudden, things started to make sense. Why Arc wanted to hide his arms from everyone was so as to fit in, as strange as it sounds considering that he's a strange, nudist, socially inept exotic lion, and more importantly to not be discriminated against, especially by his crush and her family.

Apparently, Tai Lung wasn't the only one hiding his true identity from others.

"We are still going to The Underground tomorrow right?" Arc asked trying to change the whole subject.

Tai Lung nodded, "Yes, but don't leave without speaking with Naki or you'll regret it." He was going to ask him further about the fact that his friend is a case difficult to solve he knew that now wasn't the right moment.

Arc, on the other hand, heard what the cub just said to him and he wasn't planning to leave without speaking to his girlfriend first but hearing the boy tell him that, showed that he cared about him, was what Arc needed to know if he could trust the snow leopard with important matters, like his arms' secret.

He smiled at the child, washing all distress from his features, "Oh, trust me, I intend to." He said it as he held the vial behind his back and hid it in his pants. He was going to talk to Naki but he was also planning something he hoped wouldn't regret it in the future.

* * *

A/N: Well that should do it for now. It finally happened, people, Arc's armor came off and if you want to know the appearance of Arc's arms well read and leave a damn review so I can know that people are interested!

Cíqí means porcelain and Xīnlà means spicy in Chinese. Tzabar is up to something alright so tune in because you do not want to miss it. Poor Alvar. Poor Mr. Ping. Poor guys who got sliced open by a lollipop. Poor Shifu can't let go of the past. Poor Frankie, her best emotions caused harm to others. You saw just how much of a b*tch Zoi can be and the part in which she refers to Ping as a "poor unfortunate soul" is a reference to Ursula the Sea Witch from Disney's The Little Mermaid. The scene where the teenager sets her bathhouse on fire is also inspired by _Como Agua para Chocolate_ by Laura Esquivel.

What will happen next? Will trouble come our heroes' way? Will Alvar's mural be cleaned for Tigress' sake? Tune in and find out! Remember, read and review!


	20. Missing Marks of a Misfit

Hello again, yes, it took a while for me to update but here you go! For those who are curious, no, I am not going to include any elements from the _KFP: Legends of Awesomeness_ into this story for reasons that are way too obvious for me to state but I will anyway: the show is terrible. On to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 20: Missing Marks of a Misfit

* * *

Resting his elbows on a windowsill and letting his shoulders slump, Alvar stared at the golden sky with its warm light showering the entire Valley of Peace and the peaks in the horizon. The panther sighed deeply, brushed dust off of his arms and turned away from the window to stare at the room in which he had been unconscious for hours since Tigress threw him against the building, broke through the wall and laid there. He even walked to the panther-shaped hole on the wall, which had a good view of the mural he did of the female tiger he tried to impress. The feline bent down to pick up the pieces and plates of his armor, which had fallen off from the impact and lay scattered on the floor, they were either dented or broken, his chainmail still hung from him but only by a thin string of the metallic knitting. The only thing of his usual wear that had made it through his encounter with an enraged tiger was his pants and the metallic undergarments beneath it.

"How can I make her like me?" He asked, not to himself, of course, but to Xovius. His voice, almost a whisper, displaying the sadness he felt within as well as his eyes.

Then the panther leaned against the wall, crossed his arms and answered back with a deep accented voice right after he huffed loudly in annoyance, "You can't, that's why you should look elsewhere for a chick to bang."

Then the feline slumped down the wall and looked rather angrily at his feet before he muttered an answer with his unaccented voice, "She didn't even like it that I made that painting of her with extra perky breasts!"

The feline's expression then changed to a smug grin and spoke with Xovius' voice, "Like I said, look elsewhere for a woman. If she can't appreciate your romantic efforts then good riddance, find yourself someone who is pretty and easy to claim, bonus points if she's rich!"

Alvar then huffed out, "I read in a romantic novel that guys who think like that usually end up miserable... or dead." That only made Xovius huff back in protest as the panther made a sudden turn as if directing his attention to someone else that wasn't even there. "It's a book, a fairytale, has nothing to do with real life whatsoever. Now are you going to serenate Tigress like you planned?"

Alvar rested his elbows on a window and sighed deeply, his eyes and small frown displaying the gloom he felt, "I guess I should give her some space," then he remembered the night he met her, so beautiful and feisty, and smiled a little, "until she calms down and I learn how to romance her, that is."

Someone then walked through the panther-shaped hole on the wall and spoke, "Feeling better after earlier?"

The panther simply crossed his arms but Alvar was the one to speak, "You mean after being rejected or after being thrown against houses?"

Monkey simply grinned in amusement of what happened earlier, "Both!"

Xovius then fired back at the golden langur, defending his friend, "He's depressed, unless you haven't noticed, so why are you here? Did Tigress wanted to say something to Alvar? Something like:" he then made that deep voice high-pitched to imitate a woman's vocal sound, "if you ever come near me ever again I'll kill you?"

_That was the worst Tigress imitation I've ever seen!_ Monkey held his hands in the air, "No, not at all." He then handed over the card he had found to the feline.

"What's this?" Alvar asked staring with fascination the contents of the card. It had a design of a bird with a long curved beak with its wings spread open, an image of a crested ibis in flight, to be more specific.

"Hopefully, a way to help a guy out." Monkey answered.

"Miss Xinla?" The panther read and then asked the monkey in utter confusion, "Who's she?"

"She's a matchmaker, stupid!"Xovius snapped as the panther pointed that certain piece of information written on the card before the simian could response.

"Oh!" Alvar replied, letting his ears drop, feeling embarrassed, but then his mood lightened and felt as if he had been blessed with a miracle, "She could be the solution to my lady love problem!" He began to bounce on his feet with excitement as he kept on reading the card for more information, "Look, I can get an appointment with her at her place. She's in Zhenzhu City, that's not far Gibaria!"

_Where is this Gibaria place?_ Monkey thought as he looked at the panther quizzically.

"There aren't any matchmakers in this valley?" Xovius asked the kung fu master and luckily the golden langur knew the answer.

"The last one turned out to be a fraud. She was chased out of the valley by an angry mob a few years ago. Pitchforks, torches and everything!"

He remembered that day, the con artist knew nothing about matchmaking and was only interested in the money but once the valley's people caught on to her, she barely had time to escape.

The feline gathered himself and placed the card inside, not just his pants, but his metallic undergarment, pressed against his crotch, and stood up straight, his eyes burning with passion as this new goal to find this matchmaker to help him romance the tiger of his dreams was set in his mind. "Well, Xovius, I guess we should prepare for a trip, just the two of us!"

"You sure it's safe, you know," the deep accented personality looked around and dropped his voice to a barely audible whisper, "do you think people will recognize us?"

"Not a chance!" Alvar reassured, "I'm sure the knights must have stopped looking."

Then the deep accented personality noticed the golden langur still in the room. How to explain what they were talking about? "Um…"

Monkey quickly held up his arms, "Not getting involved!" He knew that if anyone found out that he actually interacted with Alvar, or Xovius, it would most likely make all the blame fall onto him if, or when, everything ended in disaster. Avoiding getting more involved in the feline's life was the best way to avoid trouble in the future.

Once the simian had exited the messed up room through the same opening he entered, Alvar was already counting with his fingers everything that he needed for a trip to meet this Miss Xinla in The Underground.

"Pack up your things Xovius, we're leaving tomorrow!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm and the happiest expression his alternate ego had witnessed from him in a while.

The deep voice sighed heavily, "There's nothing I can say to change your mind about this, is there?"

"Nope!"

"What the- what on heavens happened in here?!"

The panther turned his attention to a pig standing at the door of the room he was in with his jaw hanging open staring in incredulity at what he was seeing. Alvar walked by the swine and explained himself hastily.

"Master Tigress threw me against your house, good sir, so if you excuse, I have a trip to prepare for!"

And out the door he went, leaving the poor man with his messed up room.

* * *

The only person that ran through Alvar's mind at all times was sneaking through the barracks' hallway. She heard something coming from the kitchen and she was aware that she was the only one there. Everyone else was either training or wasting their time.

Tigress stood in front of the door of the kitchen and opened quickly so that whoever is on the other side has no chance to flee.

She was, however, surprised to see none other than Zoi Zenigata sitting on the table, legs crossed, and writing on a notepad. What was she doing here without any permission whatsoever?

Tigress cleared her throat but to no avail; Zoi simply raised her hand and continued to write on her notepad. That angered the striped cat a lot more than what she would ever admit.

Finally, the raccoon put down her brush and pad and acknowledged the presence of the female tiger, "Master Tigress." She only nodded once.

Tigress crossed her arms and kept her tone level but with a certain edge to it as she always does, "Visitors are not allowed in the barracks without being escorted here."

The reporter simply smirked, "Such a dutiful person, are you?" She placed her belongings back in her bag and gestured she was leaving, "I understand, that is what you always do: follow rules and obey every order given by your superiors." Then she began to speak once more as she passed by the tiger in an admiring manner, "Do you ever wish to be more than what you are right now, even though you already are such an inspiration for women worldwide?"

To that, Tigress raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Thank you but," she didn't know what the raccoon was up to but she wanted to find out, "Master Shifu does allow visitors unless they are accompanied by a student or a staff member of the Jade Palace."

Zoi sighed, "Sad and here I thought I could interview the ever so inspirational Master Tigress for my next article about empowering women. I guess I will be on my way."

"Wait." Tigress said, stopping the reporter in her tracks, "Let's make this quick." She needed to find out as much as she could from the raccoon just to know more about the journalist in order to tell whenever she's scheming something against her master.

"Why thank you, Master Tigress!" Zoi gestured at the bench next to the table, "Have a seat!"

The tiger did as the raccoon said and sat there silently, staring down the other woman in the room, who had pulled out her notepad and brush with ink once more out of her bag.

Zoi smiled and spoke too kindly to not keep Tigress on edge, "Trust me, after this you will never be surer of anything in your life!"

The tiger master braced herself for whatever the raccoon might dish out at her and answer her questions without giving too much information.

Zoi did the same but differently, she wet her brush with ink, cleared her throat and began the interview, "Something many have wondered before, where were you born?"

Tigress opened her but nothing came out, she didn't know how to answer that in any way, "I… don't know. I can't remember very much before I was in Bao Gu."

Zoi continued, "The orphanage where Shifu found you, right? He saw how precious you were to him and he adopted you afterwards." She was hoping that Tigress kept on talking and answering and luckily she did.

"Yes, he, he adopted me and then he took me to the Jade Palace to become his pupil." Tigress answered regaining her composure.

The reporter noticed the feline's reactions and knew exactly what to ask next, "Ah, but I bet he adopted you for a better reason than just being his protégé?"

It was what the striped feline feared. She didn't know how to answer that question, at least properly without saying something out of place or harmful towards someone. Unfortunately for her, Zoi caught on to her, the opening she was looking for, and she was going in for the kill.

"Oh, he adopted you because he wanted a replacement for the one he had lost!" The raccoon asked as innocently as she could muster.

"That's not what I said!" Tigress snapped but regretted doing so as Zoi didn't give her the chance to think of a better answer.

"But is it not the truth?"

Tigress staggered with her answer, "No, I, no, he adopted me because he saw something special in me."

"Kung fu skills and potential." Zoi nodded as if agreeing with the feline.

"No, because he loved me." Tigress didn't want that certain matter about her relationship with her master to be brought by anyone, except it was herself who brought it to the surface and now she feared she couldn't answer any upcoming questions without coming off in a contradictory manner.

This was easier than what Zoi imagined. Master Tigress was by far the easiest person to manipulate in the whole valley, "After an entire life with him can you honestly say that and mean it?"

Tigress just stared back at the reporter writing down on her notepad, not knowing what to say or answer. The raccoon, on the other hand, was grinning triumphantly behind her pad. Zoi began to put her things away in her bag.

The tiger looked confused at the raccoon, "That's the whole interview?"

Something was odd. Tigress could feel it.

Zoi smiled back at the feline, "I got enough information about you thanks to your answers." Before Tigress could even ask anything or reply, the reporter continued to speak, "The best part about silence is that, sometimes, it tells more about people than actual spoken words."

The tiger master wanted to kick herself for allowing her emotions get in her way and allowing someone to take advantage of her.

Miss Zenigata was about to leave the kitchen but before exiting the room she looked back at the feline lost in her regretful thoughts and gave her a pitiful look, "You deserve better than what you already have, Master Tigress, if only everyone else could see that." She sighed as she shook her head, "If only you could."

The striped feline just stared wide-eyed at the raccoon as the reporter stood at the doorway but before she turned around to leave, the raccoon spoke once more, "Why should a warrior of your qualities reduce herself to such mediocre facilities, students who cannot keep up and a master who does not appreciate you?"

Tigress usually didn't care what people thought of her but Zoi's words hit her in a very sensitive area, despite the fact that she trained herself to never let that weak spot of hers ever to be exposed but the reporter just did that. Whether it was intentional or not, the raccoon had done something that rarely happens: she hurt Master Tigress.

She looked down to her paws and clenched them. _Could it be true? _Can Zoi be right about everything she just stated? Shifu never saw any real importance in her so why should she believe it? _Why should she follow the orders of that wretched old…_

Tigress snapped herself out of her doubtful thoughts. How could she even think ill of her fellow students and, above all, her master? She wanted to beat the raccoon for saying such things but she just sat there staring in disbelief at nothing… or maybe it was a realization.

The striped feline noticed that Zoi had already left the kitchen. Now, the only thing that worried her wasn't her thoughts but the raccoon herself. _What exactly is she going to publish in her news articles about me?_

* * *

Washing his wings in a little stream of water by the side of a rocky mountainside hiding in a small clearing of a forest, Cinpronio kept scrubbing every feather until they were clean or they would fall off from the massive irritation caused by the scrubbing. The reason for this was that he had finished doing what Lian told him to do and that was to pull out the entrails of the three men she had murdered. He had no problem killing someone or the fact that blood might get on him but it was the pulling out guts out of the dead bodies that made him quiver and nauseas.

"I hope I never have to do something like that ever again!"

Lian didn't respond, she just continued stitching the corpses' wounds and cuts with a joyful smile as if the gore didn't bother her one bit.

"What are we supposed to do next?"

The female lifted the dead dhole, he had his eyes stitched open, and she moved his mouth up and down with her hand as she spoke, "Wait."

The dead body had become a puppet for her, as well as the other two men she had killed. What was the purpose for this, anyway?

"For what?" Cinpronio asked nervously, fearing the answer. He did not want to pull out any more guts.

Lian simply smiled and giggled as she noticed something in the distance, being shielded by trees, "That!"

The flamingo saw another female cat, though this one had white fur, wearing black coming towards him and his psychotic companion.

The yellow feline ran up to the other female and embraced her in a rather sisterly fashion, though the latter didn't react to it, she just stood there and took it. Lian spoke to her with interest, "So, Ciqi, what do your little friends have to tell us?"

The white feline extended her arm forward. The flamingo took a closer look and saw a spider on the feline's palm, which hopped down to the ground and crawled up Lian's leg up, which made her giggle, to her ear.

"What's that?" She said in a curious whisper to the arachnid on her head as it began to murmur something to her. "Well, well, well, so Tzabar is trying to get the high authorities in China on his side." She then handed over the spider to the other cat, "You should thank your little friend for retrieving that information."

Ciqi, with her big sad eyes, wiped away tears that had dripped down her cheeks with a handkerchief and placed the spider in a pocket, "You know how they work, so you must know that he didn't."

"Ah, right, silly me!" Lian remembered how her spiders work together. "Is that all?"

"For now, nothing, just continue your task."

"Will do!" Lian replied and then turned her attention back to the corpse she was stitching earlier, "Cinpronio, sweetie, what do you think?" She lifted the dead gorilla carcass and showed it to the flamingo to display the stitch work she had done to it.

She had stitched a permanent smile on and stitched the eyes open on the ape as well as the other two men she had murdered and stitched up their wounds. Then she showed it to the white cat, who had not dismissed herself, and moved the corpse's mouth up and down but with the help of a wire she had darned through the back of his throat and jaw.

Cinpronio just stared at the woman pulling the string and doing a ventriloquy act for the other female. He feared asking but he wanted to know, "I still have no idea the reason for this?"

Lian stopped what she was doing and smiled at the bird, who, for his part, was starting to find her smiling creepy, "If what the spider told me was true, then maybe your answer will come that much sooner."

Then with no further words, just a nose blow on her handkerchief, Ciqi walked away from them and into the depths of the forest, surely, back to the Gambler and to do his bidding.

* * *

Back at the Valley of Peace, Zoi was going to pay an old friend a visit. She hadn't seen her in years after they went their separate ways for their own safety. She didn't knew her that well but what they both went through united them forever and now the raccoon was curious to know how she has been but, also, to inform her of what was coming their way.

With no further ado, the reporter entered the flower shop and saw the rabbit she was looking for at the counter cutting old leaves out of a plant.

Yun Ma was unaware of the raccoon there. She breathed in and out, walked up to the florist and spoke with her usual cold tone, "So this is where you have been hiding this whole time: in a whorehouse."

The rabbit turned around in surprise to the words said to her but was even more surprised when she saw who it was that said them, "Zoi!" She stood there not knowing what to say until something did escape her lips, "I heard you had left the valley months ago."

She was still the tough cookie Zoi remembered and the fact she knew the raccoon had been there months ago but didn't bother to greet her told the reporter enough about how the rabbit felt about her and, quite frankly, she didn't blame her.

"Well, I am back." The raccoon clearly showed no signed of emotion, just this plain cold stare of hers.

Yun Ma didn't waver one bit, she was not going to show any sign of weakness to the woman she had survived the catastrophe they both went through. She spoke with a tern, and somewhat angry, tone, "What are you doing here? Are you trying to lead _them_ straight to me!?"

"No." She said sounding completely uninterested but then looked at the rabbit directly in the eyes, "They are already planning to come here anyway.

Yun Ma's face fell completely as she backed away from the raccoon. She didn't believe, she didn't want to believe it, "What?"

"Do not bring any attention to yourself or they will find you." Zoi warned calmly not wanting to cause a scene but it was too late for that.

The female rabbit was near tears as she spat out her words in utter anger and frustration, "Easy for you to say! You're not the one that was identified, they don't know that you're a witness, one of the survivors, but as for me, they know my face, my name and my past life!"

She wanted to drop on the floor and cry but she wasn't going to shed a tear in front of Zoi, not because she was stubborn, the raccoon always handled situations properly and calmly, showing weakness would demonstrate that she wasn't up to par with the one who had gone through the same she has. Though, she had heard a lot about Zoi for years as the raccoon became a well-known reporter after _it_ happened and the abettors have not caught her because they don't know she was one of the survivors. A few months back, Yun Ma heard that the raccoon was in the valley but she decided to avoid her, not wanting to bring up her past or to make it haunt her in the future.

The reporter suddenly broke the rabbits thoughts, "I heard from a special source that you had a child."

Yun Ma gave a little forced smile. "Yes."

Just as emotionless as before, Zoi spoke, "If I have to guess, it is the baby you conceived from-" She didn't finish the sentence because the other female cut her off.

"Don't even say it! I don't want to remember the full details of the worst moments of my life!"

"However, that worst moment of your life gave you the child you love and care for, so at least some good came from that." Zoi replied simple as that.

And the raccoon's words did their charm, Yun Ma just stood there quiet, knowing she couldn't deny that she loved her child dearly. Her son. That reminded the rabbit of someone who had survived the catastrophe alongside her and, above all, Zoi. The florist asked out formality but also because she was curious, "How's your son?"

Zoi smiled thinly and answered, "Kaito is fine."

"That's not how I remembered him the last time I laid my eyes on him."

The reporter did not like to speak about this matter but the rabbit was, technically, in the same situation as her, regarding her life, "He has been in an asylum for the last eight years, recovering from the mental damage."

"Will he recover?" Yun Ma sounded concerned for the boy she has not seen since that fateful incident and she was. Kaito had been this fragile little being and everything that happened to him was just too horrible for anyone to bear.

Zoi sensed that the rabbit did indeed care for her son's wellbeing and answered her question without that cold tone of hers, "The doctor said that if he keeps improving he might check out by summer."

"That's good to hear." She was surprised to hear the news about the boy spending all those years since she last saw him in an asylum. She had hoped that her child would never be exposed to what Kaito and that one little girl whose name she couldn't remember at the moment had experienced but it seemed that that might be inevitable if what Zoi had informed her with is true.

The silence in the shop was scary in a way. Nothing could be heard, not even the commotion of people outside until the front door swung open to let in bright daylight inside the establishment. Both the raccoon and rabbit then heard footsteps at the front, where two eager men were looking around with too much enthusiasm for just wanting to buy flower arrangements and Zoi knew that she had overstayed her welcome, "I see you have clients to attend to. It was good seeing you again, Yun Ma, and remember: lay low and do not bring attention to yourself."

She turned to leave with no further words, not even a 'good bye'.

Yun Ma remembered Zoi as a caring loving person before that catastrophe had occurred but, then again, she too had changed after it.

Zoi stopped and spoke over her shoulder, "Before I leave, do you need anything?"

Yun Ma noticed the raccoon at the door, waiting for a reply. "Um, no but thank you."

"Suit yourself."

And with that, the raccoon left the scene, leaving the rabbit to handle the two clients, waiting for the rest of the employees to enter the room and offer their services but Yun Ma could tell that deep down Zoi was still a good person, especially when she asked that last question before she left. Truly, she was more than meets the eyes.

But the raccoon was not done for the day. No, she had other important matters to attend, which was the reason why she was going to pay Zhi Peng's family a visit. After a few months of his death, she was still questioning the clues she had found and the possible murderer's reason for doing so, especially, if the person she suspected to be the yak's killer was really responsible for the crime.

She tried to warn Shifu of what could be trouble for many but like always, he chose his pride above everything and everyone else and Zoi found no reason in her morals to inform him. Though she suspected who the real killer is and how important it is to let the stubborn old man know before things get out of hand because if the Gambler indeed was behind the killing, surely, there must be something the smiling freak wants.

_But what, exactly? What could the Gambler want and from someone like the yak?_

However, she did wonder if the yak, who everyone believes killed himself with poison, knew or had interacted with the Gambler before. Hopefully, she could get some information from his family.

* * *

He had mustered all strength he had for this moment and yet he still wasn't ready for what he wanted to do.

Arc was standing in front of Naki's bedroom in the barracks' hallway. Standing there completely still, staring at the door, not knowing what to do next. Should he knock? Should he call her name? Or should he just walk away?

He slapped his face a few times before he began reassuring himself, "Come on, you can do this, _you're a lion_, you're fierce!"

Then the door then slid open.

"Arc?" The voice of the person he had fallen for spoke.

His eyes shot wide open when he heard and saw Naki standing right in front of him. _What to say? What to say?_ "Naki! Uh, what a surprise seeing you here!"

"Um, this is my room."

"Ah, right." He said feeling embarrassed, scratching the back of his head and blushing, "I want to…" He stopped in mid-sentence, inhaled deeply to brace himself for what he was going to do and exhaled, "We need to talk."

There was nothing but silence for what felt like minutes but was actually seconds to the female who stood still, disbelieving what she just heard.

"You're, you're breaking up with me?" Tears were already forming in her eyes. What could have gone wrong? Their relationship was doing better than what she could have hoped for and now he wanted to end it.

"What, no!" He said startled by her, "I'm here because I want to tell you something, well, actually show you something."

"What then?" She was relieved that he wasn't going to dump her but what could he possibly show her?

He began to remove his shirt to leave his entire upper body exposed save for the armors on his arms and the bowtie around his neck.

_Where is he going at? Is he going to take off his pants as well? I've already seen more than my good share of his nude body._ Though, she wasn't complaining about him having no problem walking around completely bare.

Then he looked at her directly in the eyes and took her hands into his and placed them on his shoulders.

"Are you still curious?" He asked

"Of what?" There was no doubt that she was confused. What could he possibly show her that was so interesting? Though, she noticed that something was different about him, about his face or maybe it was his mane, like if something was missing about his features.

With his hands atop hers, both his index finger began to slowly rotate the top metal plate of the male's armor. Her eyes grew wide once she noticed it. Arc stopped spinning the plates and very slowly pulled both of them down and as the top armor plates descended they took every other metallic plate from the feline's arm. Naki had to admit to herself that she had never been more turned on by anything else the lion had done before.

And there they were: Arc's exposed arms for her to see. The male took both armors, which looked like thick bracelets, in his hands and set them aside so he could embrace his girlfriend in his warmth and whispered in her ear, "So, what do you think?"

"I think you are too good to be real!" And she meant it. She had wanted to be embraced by his bare arms for so long, even before she noticed she was crushing on him, and now he had fulfilled her desire.

He was blushing and he knew she was too as the female began to purr and snuggling against his chest. Then he closed his eyes not because it felt good to have his girlfriend cuddle against him but of what he just did to her by exposing his arms like this. After seeing the reaction she gave staring them, Arc knew he had thrown his relationship with Naki out the window.

The female feline on the other hand was resting her head on her boyfriend's chest and running her hands up and down his bare arms, finally being able to feel the warmth they provide, the softness of his arm fur and the muscles beneath his flesh. It felt better than what she imagined it would feel.

One felt warmth and love for the other but the other felt more regret than anything else.

"I can't wait for my family to arrive!"

"Yeah, me too." He lied, of course. He wasn't eager to get visited by her family now that the two teenagers had declared their dating status. He was afraid they'd reject him or think he isn't worthy of Naki. But he had to admit, it felt great to have his girlfriend caress him and his arms, something she never had done before, and wanted to enjoy this moment to its fullest.

Little did those two know was that a certain snow leopard was in the hallway, peeking through the crack of the open door and had witnessed everything, especially Arc exposing his arms.

Tai Lung just stared in disbelief at what he saw or in this case what he wasn't able to see. _What happened to his arms? Those things are missing! His arm markings are missing!_

* * *

Master Shifu was wandering around in the Jade Palace not because his age had finally brought him to insanity but because he was following the beautiful music that had flooded each room with its whimsical flow. He recognized the tune; it was one he remembered from his youth but never again during his lifetime. The musical trail led him to the courtyard where a cougar played his long, metallic flute by the entrance door.

Of course, it was Penpal who was playing the song. Shifu barely knew anything about the weirdly dressed feline; he had been too distracted and amazed by Gongju to notice him. Then again, the cougar never spoke to anyone; he always stayed in the back, avoiding anyone he wasn't familiar with.

The old master witnessed the shy boy play his instrument with such passion and skill he felt like joining the youth by pulling out his own flute and began playing the same melody as the young feline. But the second he began to play the cougar boy immediately stopped playing and ran away from the, now confused, red panda.

Of course, Shifu ran after the boy and cut him off in the descent of the stairs.

The feline stopped in his tracks seeing Shifu in front of him. "That was embarrassing!" The cougar replied covering his face with his hands.

The red panda placed a hand on the shy boy's shoulder, which made him flinch and stand straight in a startled manner. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, you have talent!"

The boy's ears pricked up and he slowly removed his hands away from his eyes, revealing an old man smiling caringly at him, "Dost thou think so?"

Now the red panda looked at the boy in confusion, "Why do you speak in that manner?"

Then the boy looked away from the old man and twiddled his fingers, "Does it bother you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"No, it didn't bother me, but the music you were playing was, was…" Shifu couldn't really describe how much he liked the song the boy played that he couldn't even finish his statement with the proper word.

"That's what bothered you, right?" Penpal said with a guilty expression plastered on his face.

Shifu had never been this confused towards another child, he understood Arc wasn't completely sane in the head, but this boy seemed to be afraid of everyone except his close friends, "No! I liked how you were playing your flute."

The cougar blushed, "Oh, uh, thank you!" He even tried to hide his view with his hat from the praise he felt for something he loved to do. In other words, he was embarrassed.

Shifu had to smile at seeing the display of humility the shy child always seemed to show every waking moment, especially when someone complemented him. Then the red panda noticed that the cougar had a rucksack on his back and, by the looks of it, it was full. "Penpal, you're leaving?"

"Huh," the feline then remembered the backpack he's carrying, "oh, yes, Gongju wants to fix, uh, a problem somewhere and he wants us all to accompany him."

Shifu's ears dropped after hearing that. He had barely gotten to know Gongju well and now he and his little friends were leaving, probably never to be seen by him ever again, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, sir." The boy said with a nod.

"And when will you be returning to the Valley of Peace?"

The boy twiddled his fingers, "Um, I don't know. It depends if Gongju says that we should."

_So, in the end, I need to convince Gongju, of all people, to come back._

The red panda came up with an idea, not a brilliant one but still it was something, "Listen, how would you like it if the Jade Palace invites you to a farewell dinner tonight?"

"Oh, well, I'll have to tell Gongju, Ralix and Wen if that's okay." The cougar replied looking away from him and scratching the back of his neck.

Shifu noticed the boy's sudden uncomforting gestures but waved them off, "Yes, tell them to come tonight. It's the least we can do for your services to the valley."

"I'll inform Gongju when I first see him, sir."

"You can tell me now!" A familiar voice said from behind the cougar. Of course, it was the leader of the Workshop coming up the steps, obviously, taking his time so as not to injure himself and carrying his wheelchair folded up like a backpack.

The red panda, on the other hand, was concerned about the boy's health knowing his disability and yet the snow leopard climbed up the steps with no one aiding him. He admired the child's perseverance but worried if the boy knew his own limits.

Penpal was a bit startled by his leader's sudden appearance behind him, "Oh, Gongju, Master Shifu invited us, and Ralix and Wen, to a dinner in our honor and it's tonight."

"Well, isn't that nice of him!" Gongju replied to the old master and bowed to him respectfully, "We'll be there, Master Shifu. I'll tell the others about it later." Then he turned to the cougar, "First, let's help Arc clean up his room. I told you to wait by the courtyard's door. "

"Master Shifu scared me and I ran!"

The snow leopard looked confused and looked from the cougar to the old master in need of an answer.

"It's not what you think, I simply startled him." Master Shifu explained.

Gongju had to laugh at that, "Oh, yeah, you'll have to excuse Penpal, he's very shy."

"I can see that." The red panda chuckled. What was it about Gongju that brought the best out of him? "Anyway, come by the barracks kitchen after you are done helping Arc clean up his room."

"We'll be honored to attend, Master Shifu!" Gongju answered in behalf of his friends and bowed to the old man and went up the stairs along with his shy feline companion.

The old master knew that the only way to convince the snow leopard to return would be during this dinner in honor of the Workshop. Of course, he would need Po to start cooking immediately. _Wait, why would Arc need help cleaning his room? It's empty!_

Whatever the lion was up to, Shifu would try to avoid it at all cost. _He is not going to unclothe me in front of children!_

* * *

Down in the valley streets another story was being told, one about a giant panda and his unusual ways.

"Look, there's another patch of dirt there." Said the Dragon Warrior as he carried a sack full of seeds from the fruits he found earlier that day.

Ralix, who was had agreed to help the panda, though he was doing absolutely nothing since Po was doing everything, was right behind him, "Again, why do you want to plant these seeds everywhere where they can grow?"

The fox thought that it would have been something quick, especially since he intended to help Mr. Ping he overheard the panda say, but Po had insisted to do this and, as much as possible.

"So that everyone in the valley can have their very own tree that gives delicious fruits!" He finished his statement with a fist raised in the air. He was excited to see the reactions of everyone in the valley when they see their very own piny pome tree, or shrub, whatever plant they grow from, and taste the delicious fruit they provide, "Everyone will be like: 'Oh, Dragon Warrior, you are so generous!' and 'You are the best, Po!'"

The young vulpine took a few of the seeds the large mammal had took a closer look at them. _Where have I seen seeds like these before?_

Ralix couldn't tell where or when he had seen seeds like those before. He placed them in his pocket hoping that if he became familiar with them the name he was looking for in his head would pop up.

Those piny pomes contained many seeds inside their core and these juice-filled arils were just as tasty as the rest of the fruit itself.

The panda poked holes on the ground with his fingers and placed single seed in every tiny aperture there and covered it up. Surely, the rain and sunshine should do the rest.

Then, out of nowhere, Wen took hold of her brother's wrist and dragged him away from the panda, "Ralix, if you're planting a trap to prank someone, mom and dad said that I'm allowed to discipline you with force."

The boy tried to pull himself away from his older sibling to no avail, "I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm watching what Po is doing!"

She then lowered her voice, "We are under orders from Gongju not to interact with him or did you forget?"

The young male fox explained himself, "He said his father couldn't open a locked box and I thought I could help him."

"Then why aren't you helping Mr. Ping then?"

"I got distracted with what he's doing." He jerked a thumb back at the panda.

Wen noticed what the giant panda was doing and, as the snippy person that she is, confronted him, "Planting seeds? Shouldn't you ask the people if they want whatever plants you're planting?"

Po explained himself as full of it as he could, though completely unaware about the way he came off, "My job as the Dragon Warrior is to help those in need and once these plants grow, they'll thank me for the delicious fruit!"

Well Wen saw no harm in what the panda was doing and thus she waved it off as something of no concern to her.

"Whatever. What exactly did your father needed to open, again?"

_Some minutes later at the noodle shop._

The jolly old goose was overjoyed holding an open wooden box, looking at its content with glee, "Oh, thank you for opening my savings box, now I can fix up the noodle shop and bring in more customers!" Then he placed his wing feathers beneath his beak and thought loudly, "Maybe I should also rethink the name?"

"What's wrong with its current name?" Ralix said while putting two lock picks away in a special case with the rest of the picks he owns.

The goose sighed, "Nothing, in my opinion, but I feel that it's not marketable enough to draw in more hungry clients."

"Arc thinks you should rename this joint _Tastycular_!" Ralix added half laughing.

"Ew!" Wen moaned. Arc always found a way to disgust her back when they were younger and even now, years later, he still managed to do just that effortlessly.

The goose, on the other hand, was actually considering the name suggested by the young fox, "Not bad but it isn't what I'm looking for."

Wen added a suggestion of her own, "Maybe you should ask Po, he is going to inherit this place one day, isn't he?"

But then the little red vulpine considered an idea of his own and thought it was worth mentioning, "Why dontcha use Po's kung fu status to make some cash. He's ya son so I guess you can make a good profit out of him. You'd be like one of those pageant mothers, except you're not going to hell when you die!"

The goose actually sat back and seemed intrigued by that last notion from the boy, "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Of course, the young red fox smiled hearing that. Usually Gongju was the one with good ideas and it felt good hearing someone like his suggestion. It's not like if his pinion wasn't important to the crippled snow leopard or the team, it's just that his leader thinks of better ones and quite fast.

Ralix looked from the goose to the window above the noodle maker showing the blue sky above the valley and the sun reaching the peaks of the far mountain. That reminded her of what time it was. "We gotta go now, we promised Arc we'd help him with something."

Both brother and sister exited the shop, heading to the Jade Palace, to keep the promise they made to their friend. But as soon as they were quite far from the restaurant, Wen pinched her younger sibling on the forearm.

"Ow, what was that for?" The boy demanded as he rubbed his feeble injury.

Wen huffed in annoyance. How could her brother be so ignorant? "For interacting with the panda, duh!"

He raised a brow in confusion, "So?"

Thankfully, his sister explained it to him like if it had already been done before, "He is you know who's student. Gongju ordered us to steer clear from him. Gongju also said that he would be the one to speak with him if it was necessary and if being too close to the Dragon Warrior would mean that that red panda will eventually influence you in any way. You do remember of what happened to _that_ woman?"

Now he remembered when his pal had told him that, but of course, he had been distracted with something else. He wanted to punch himself hard in the face for not paying good attention to something Gongju had considered as important enough that he didn't want his friends to interact with someone for their own good. However, he does know what Shifu did and he did know which woman his sister referred to. "I know. But, Arc seems fine and he's been staying at the Jade Palace for months."

Wen gave him a no-nonsense look, "Arc can take care of himself besides he's immune to many types of injuries if the fact that he was dropped on his head as a baby is true."

"I think that could be right, that Tai kid told me that Arc's family was massacred when he was a baby. He could have gotten injured through it."

Alright, she had to admit, to herself, that she was shocked to hear the news about the lion's family. But the archeologist had been living near Shifu than anyone else they can trust, "Maybe we could ask Arc about it ourselves."

Ralix nodded at her recommendation and then noticed Po, crouching down, still planting seeds. "Should we tell him about the truth of Shifu?"

"And risk him telling his master about who told him the story in the first place? No. We just have to be careful around him and hopefully being close to that big-eared, bug-eyed freak won't cause us harm."

Brother and sister went strode along the streets, crossed the moon bridge and went up the steps of the Jade Mountain. They were going to keep their promise to their lion friend whom didn't have that many things to pack up to begin with.

Then the male fox recalled the lion's room in the barracks, "Hey, how come Arc needs all of us to pack up his things? Have you been to his room up in the barracks? He doesn't have anything in his room!"

Wen almost answered but stopped before anything left her mouth and thought about it, "You got me there." Then she quirked a smirk, "Then again, would you expect normalcy from him?"

"He hangs out a lot with that Tai kid for some reason and that kid is a jerk at times. Why would someone as cheerful as Arc hang out with someone so gloomy?"

"Yin and Yang, I guess!" She said conclusively.

* * *

After he had shared that very special moment with his love interest, Arc was in the barrack's kitchen eyeing through the pantry and picking out certain ingredient he thought fit what he was looking for. Of course, he had once more covered his arms with his armor right after Naki had let go of him to go study some of the scroll Shifu had instructed her to read.

He stopped for a moment thinking of what he had done for his girlfriend to see. Was he regretting doing what he did? That was Naki, of all people, the one loved and has loved for so long, and, as it turned out, loves him as well. So why was he feeling as if he made a mistake like if he had done something unforgivable?

…_because I lied to her._

He walked up to the table and laid the ingredients he had just picked out of the pantry on it and sighed deeply. The feline had to pull it together and act as if nothing happened before and keep it to himself and his lady love. But what if she expected him to take off his armor again?

Then Mantis entered the kitchen and sat right on top of the table and noticed everything Arc had taken out of the pantry and that the lion's sleeves were missing, "What are you up to, Arc?"

He was all smiles once more as soon as he noticed he had company, "My friends are coming here to help me with something!"

"And?" The insect asked watching as the lion filled a pot with water and started a fire on the stove.

"I don't need help with anything! I just want them to be here so I can surprise them with a feast!"

"What's the occasion?"

The lion spoke from the pantry as he searched for more ingredients, "They're leaving tomorrow and this is my way of sharing one more special moment with them just in case if fate comes between us all again."

"You know how to cook?" Mantis asked as he saw the lion carry a bag of flour out of the storeroom. He imagined the teenager did know since he travels a lot; he was just curious.

Arc nodded as he began to open a spice container, sprinkled some of it in the water and then threw the whole container in, and sliced a root of ginseng with his claws and tossed it in the pot, "I sure do, all you have to do to prepare food is place it over a fire!" Then he looked back at the insect who seemed interested in what the cat was doing if the smile and look of pure curiosity was any indication, "Then you wait for it to cook to perfection!"

However, Mantis' grin dropped once he saw Arc throw in an apple, a jar of jelly, still in the container, a fistful of salt and squeezed a bunch of Sichuan peppers, letting the spicy juices drip in the gradually simmering water, with both hands and discarded the remains of the fruits into an empty container. "No need to throw away good pepper husks!" The lion claimed as he placed the ampule in the pantry.

Mantis sure hoped no one ever used those crushed peppers in one of his meals knowing how much the archeologist tended to skip baths, proclaiming that unless it bothered people around him, he didn't need to take them. The insect also wondered what exactly did such a gorgeous, well-mannered girl saw in the weird lion. Then he noticed the feline walk out of the food storage and back to the pot.

_What else is he going to add?_ Mantis thought seeing the cat stop right in front of the large vessel on the stove.

Arc then dipped both his paws in the slowly darkening broth, full of random ingredients, and, to the insects shock and horror, began to wash off the juices left behind by the crushed peppers with the water that he and everyone else were supposed to eat later. Then he brought a finger to his mouth and sampled the flavor. The fact that he licked his lips was a sign, to Mantis, that the lion had no taste buds.

"Can't wait for everyone to try it!" The lion joyfully said as he began to look for what next to add from his selection on the dinner table.

He then grabbed the sack of flour but didn't empty it into the pot instead Arc threw the whole thing in and stirred the water with a wooden spoon. "Some soy sauce might give it an extra boost of flavor."

Mantis had seen enough and he was going to step in before Arc got any more of his strange ideas, "Maybe you should let Po cook it for you or start over with a new dish."

"But then it wouldn't be special because I didn't make it myself." The feline pointed out.

The insect slumped down and sighed, then he murmured something for himself very quietly, "Just trying to save lives here!"

"I'm not going to kill anyone!" Arc, to Mantis' astonishment, responded with his arms akimbo.

"You heard that?" The insect asked surprised. Only Shifu could hear something like that.

"My senses are very sharp. No one can blame others with the gas they passed, while I'm around!" The lion explained.

Now Mantis was interested in the lion again. He had heard of people with sensory receptors strong enough that they could feel their enemies' presence miles away, "Can you sense people's exact location?"

"Only if I concentrate hard enough, I may." But Arc didn't stop there, "And considering the amount of people following me lately, they would all blush hard once they find out I knew about them!"

"Someone's following you?"

"A few, actually." Arc added. Shifu was indeed following him and Tai earlier that day but he was rather uncomfortable knowing who else was doing so.

Then the kitchen door slid open, revealing Master Shifu standing in the doorway.

"Arc, you have visitors." The old master said with a hint of enthusiasm as Gongju and Penpal, the latter pushing the former's wheelchair, entered the kitchen.

Then the Furious Five appeared with the two vulpine siblings.

Viper spoke next as she gestured with her tail the two foxes, "I found them in your room. They were looking for you."

Arc was happy to see his friends, like he always is around them, and greeted them by gesturing them to take a seat.

The snow leopard folded his wheelchair, placed it beneath the bench and sat down. He wanted to know why the lion had called for his help when he apparently didn't need it and then he saw that the archeologist was cooking something on the stove and adding a few spices to it, "Arc, what's going on?"

The lion scratched his head and looked apologetic, "Well since you're already here I might as well tell you the truth now. I don't need help with anything. I just needed you guys to get here so I could surprise you with a feast made by yours truly!"

The snow leopard boy smiled back at the lion and sincerely thanked him for his kindness, "Thank you, Arc!"

The crippled boy looked from the grateful lion to the old master taking a seat at the end of the table, "You know what's funny: Master Shifu wanted to do the same thing!"

"Lied about needing help and throw you guys a surprise dinner instead?" The lion asked, though no one was sure if he was actually joking because of the blank facial expression he gave, like he does most of the time.

"You're only half right!"

Then the rest of the Furious Five entered the kitchen and Arc could only smile to them as they seemed to be attracted to the smell of the banquet he was cooking.

"Please, take a seat everyone." Arc said. "Dinner is almost ready."

Everyone did as they were told. It was interesting for the members of the Furious Five and their master to share a meal in the barracks with so many children. The Workshop members, on the other hand, were being themselves: Gongju waiting patiently to be served, Penpal avoiding everyone's eyes and the two siblings arguing about who was going to sit in a specific spot on the bench.

Then Mantis warned everyone around the table about what was to come, "Everyone, I suggest we run and hide at the tallest peak in the near mountains until it is safe to assure that Arc's food is gone!"

Gongju wasn't going to let anyone insult his friend and defended him from the insect's words, "Master Mantis, that's rude, you shouldn't say something so hurtful just for fun!"

Mantis was going to retort back but then the insect realized how much fun it would be to witness the reactions that were surely going to happen once everyone took a look at what the lion was cooking and serving them.

"Where is Po? Of all people, I would have expected him to be on time for any meal." Master Shifu asked noticing that his student hadn't shown up to eat of all things.

"He's doing something for the benefit of the valley, at least, that's what he thinks he's doing." Wen explained to him.

The old man raised a brow, "He's not endangering anyone, is he?"

"None that we're aware of." Ralix answered.

"Good." The last thing Shifu wanted was for Po to cause trouble with his usual antics.

Arc was stirring the concoction in the pot, "I sure hope you're all hungry!" He looked over his shoulder and noticed that someone else was missing, "Where's Snow Cub?"

"I last saw him with Jagter." Naki said.

That actually bothered the archeologist a bit. His friend was with the stern brother of his girlfriend. "Doing what?" He asked.

"I don't know. My brother spends most of his time practicing his hunting skills."

"Is that what he was doing hiding in the tall grass?" Viper asked recalling what she had seen the other male lion sneaking behind shrubs.

Naki chuckled and held a hand to her mouth to keep her from laughing. "Don't tell him you noticed him, he'll take it quite harshly!"

The female cat recalled the last time her brother got caught trying to sneak up on someone and felt into a grumpy mood for a while.

"Is he going to join us?" The snake asked, breaking the feline out of her reverie.

"Again, I don't know. Jagter always preferred eating alone."

"Too mature for his age." Master Shifu said with conviction. He was just like that when he was about the lion's age.

However, Naki corrected him, "No, so no one can see his bad table manners!"

That earned a few laughs from everyone even Arc, who was surprised to hear that Jagter wasn't such a serious person all the time.

"You should see Po scarfing down a meal!" Crane added, earning twice as many laughs.

"I have!" Naki admitted.

Dinner was going to be better than expected.

"I think it's ready!" The lion said he prepared bowls to serve everyone.

Mantis knew what was to be expected from the food itself but he wasn't going to alert anyone else about it, "Don't worry about serving me, Arc. I ate a while ago."

"Ok, but you don't know what you're missing!"

Mantis held up his pincers, "I'll take my chances!"

Once the lion placed a bowl of food in front of everyone, he looked at them all with enthusiasm, "Alright everyone, dig in!"

There was silence.

"Arc, what is this?" Master Shifu asked as he poked the content of his own bowl: a brown viscous sludge.

"Food, duh!" The lion answered.

"What is _in_ this?" The red panda pressed on.

"Um, food, DUH!"

The old man huffed loudly and looked at the lion with a certain tiredness in his expression and in his tone of voice "Why is it so difficult to get through you?"

Arc looked blankly back at him as his expression turned to one of confusion, "It's not difficult!" He said. "All you have to do is stand up and walk pass next to me!"

Shifu gave up. He knew he could never get a straight answer out of the lion. Even Oogway was able to speak more directly than the teenager.

"Now eat up, I made it with love!"

"And everything he found in the pantry." Mantis added.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!" Tigress defended the lion, not for him but for the fact that it was just food, a necessity, surely whatever he had made couldn't really be terrible.

She ate a tiny clump of the goop.

There was silence as everyone waited a response from the striped feline.

"What the hell is in this stuff?" She shrieked out after a minute or so after tasting the slop.

Naki hadn't tasted her plate and after what Tigress' reaction was she most definitely did not want to eat this goop, but seeing the lion's hopeful expression as he waited for her to sample his concoction made her pick up the dish and without thinking it slurp some of it down. It was gross but she managed to keep a straight face and smiled, forcedly, at him, "I think it's good!"

Arc's face lit up after hearing her praise his food. Then he looked back at everyone else at the table and gestured them to try their food. Frankly, no one wanted to deliver bad news to the lion, especially since he always looked at everything with that certain innocence and wonder, they didn't want to upset him so everyone picked up their chop sticks and began to dig in, so to speak. All except Mantis, of course, who had stayed in the kitchen to see everyone's reaction to Arc's cooking. He hoped something interesting happened at someone else's expense.

One of the most amusing moments of this dinner was the revelation of just what everyone pulled out of their mushy goo. Crane had been polite to the lion he went first and picked something out of his bowl but when the bird lifted his chopsticks they were holding what appeared to be a droopy sack covered in the viscous goop. And if that didn't make stomachs turn they all were surprised when Monkey grabbed a fistful of the goo and shoved it in his mouth and chewed on it as hard as he could but nevertheless he had to spit it out, not just because of how hard it was but the taste overpowered him.

Wen simply moved around the goop with her chopsticks, pretending to be picking chunks of slop and smiled back at the lion whenever he looked at her direction. Gongju had another plan and that was to recite a prayer about how thankful he was about the meal before him, though he kept extending his prayers by adding the parts about being thankful for his friends, his life and basically everything else, just as long as it withheld him from eating the food right in front of his face.

Those who had witnessed Crane pull out the sack placed their chopsticks immediately on the table as they too pulled out unidentifiable things from the clumps of the sticky brown goo being held by their utensils.

All but Tigress, who was lost in thought, looking only at her master as she worried about what the raccoon would do with the interview from earlier. Would it humiliate Shifu? And will he disapprove of her for accepting to something that concerns the reporter of all people and could probably harm her reputation, her master's or the Jade Palace's? The striped feline felt that she had to do something before Zoi published anything about her. Tigress knew she had to if she wanted to keep her dignity intact, especially in the eyes of her master.

Gongju had had enough of staring at the slop and faking smiles so as not to hurt his friend's feeling so in a desperate attempt to avoid eating what was in front of him, the boy suggested an idea. He hoped it would work.

"How about if we share stories first and let the food cool down?"

"A most splendid idea!" Master Shifu said, agreeing to the boy's idea because he too did not want to eat what was before him. In fact, the red panda was trying to pull his chopsticks from the sticky goo but it hardened while the wooden utensils were still plunged in the substance and it was actually harder to remove them than what the old master thought it would. In the end, he gave up trying to yank them out and left them sticking up on the now solid slop.

Arc took his eyes off his girlfriend and noticed the two chopsticks on the red panda's food, "Oh Shifu, is your food too hard to chew?" He said. Then he smiled and placed a reassuring paw on the master's shoulder, "Don't worry, I know how to help. The elderly don't have strong teeth, I remember now, so I'll soften it for you!"

What happened next was by far the most grotesque thing the old master had witnessed in his life and he has experience gross situations before but none like this one.

The lion took Shifu's bowl, pulled out the hardened goo, which had taken the shape of the bowl, and emptied it completely in his open maw, chopsticks as well. Everyone gagged loudly, especially when the lion began to chew the viscous yet hard concoction with his full cheeks and tightly pressed mouth so as the food didn't drip out his lips. After a while of staring in horror, everybody around the table found it hard to keep on looking when the lion returned the goop back into the bowl as bile.

"There. It should be soft enough for your feeble old man teeth to chew on." Arc replied with a smile.

The room was silent, Shifu most of all as he stared down at the now liquefied brown substance.

He sighed, "Arc, I know you worked hard on this meal," He then stared at the lion who was now carrying a blank expression on his face, "don't get me wrong, I bet it tastes good but…"

Before Shifu had time to think of the proper words to explain why he didn't want to eat the goo, and not sounding like a complete jerk for doing so, Arc intervened.

"Really? 'Cause I think it tastes like crap."

There was silence.

Monkey was the first to release an outburst, "You were going to make us eat this toxic crap just for your amusement?!"

The lion looked blankly at everyone waiting for an answer. The he gave an apologetic look, "I figured you guys would tell me you didn't want to eat it but since none of you said anything…"

No one could really argue with that, except maybe take it out on Mantis, who Arc ratted out as knowing what the food had and not telling anyone.

It was a funny sight, seeing the majority of the Furious Five taking out their frustration on the insect.

Ralix was about to throw away the goo in his bowl before his sister stopped him.

"Mom and dad have said not to turn down something until you try it."

The little fox then dipped a finger in the brown sludge and licked it to sampled the disgusting looking slop. His eyes widened after the taste kicked in. "Huh, this isn't half bad."

His sister looked at him oddly. "You're kidding, right?" _I said try it, you don't have to lie to yourself._

"Nope. I think I'll save some for another day." The younger sibling said and looked for a lid to cover his bowl, "No need to let good food go to waste!"

Arc took his girlfriend's hand and made an announcement.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Let's go to Mr. Ping's noodle shop!"

Now that was something everyone agreed with as they followed the lion, with Naki by his side, and exited the kitchen. All but Mantis who was left stuck on a pile of the brown goo, which had hardened, and was stuck in it save for his head.

"You guys, you can't leave me here!" He cried, "I'm hungry too!"

* * *

A/N: Well, it's that time again: me having to take a while to finish the next chapter.

Zoi isn't making many friends, now is she? Alvar and Xovius are going off on a journey of their own. Zhēnzhū means pearl in Chinese. And Arc revealed his arms to Naki and something was missing from him. Maybe the next chapter has answers so be patient!

Please, read and review! (or I will kill off a character you all like very much)


	21. Lion's Fury

Thank you to everyone who is devoted to my story and waiting patiently for every update, you make me feel like a total douche for not being able to post chapters as fast as possible! Don't worry, I'm not going to kill off any characters just because you didn't review, it was just a joke. It's that time of the year again, we're celebrating this story's third anniversary. Can't believe it's been that long! This chapter was hard to write so I hope that after my big absence you still put up with me and enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I own The Underground, my OCs and the plot of the story.

Chapter 21: Lion's Fury

* * *

It was morning, so early that there wasn't sight of any villager anywhere in the quiet streets. The only sign of life was the two felines walking alongside one another but the smaller cat was feeling uneasy and it was because of Arc.

There was sadness and shame written all over his features and Tai Lung was positive that the lion's depressive mood had to do with what happened the other day in Naki's room.

They were on their way to meet up with the Workshop at the abandoned farmhouse Tai Lung informed them about the night before and boy did many things occurred last night.

The other night the snow leopard didn't bother going to dinner with the rest of the Jade Palace students, its master and not even with Arc, no, he was too busy putting a few things together down at Mr. Ping's noodle shop. There wasn't a better place to escape than in that restaurant and the goose always seemed to put him in a good mood with his usual upbeat demeanor and his noodle references. Tai Lung was surprised to have been joined by Jagter, of all people, who all of a sudden took an interest in him.

The lion asked him question as if trying to get to know him but the snow leopard could feel that there was a second purpose behind those queries. But what?

Things became more uncomfortable when a certain panda sat next to both felines.

"How's it going with you two?" Po had asked as he set a sack full of seeds on the table. The panda sure was tired after planting arils all day long and hoped to join the conversation between the two cats. However, Tai Lung was just shooting daggers with his eyes at the panda but Jagter, though always carrying that stern poker face on, spoke to him cordially like the well manner person he was.

"I was just getting to know Zai a little better, that's all."

Po smiled at the two felines and placed a hand on their shoulders, "Well that's good. You two are the least people who open up to others. At least now you're becoming friends, huh?"

Tai Lung swatted his hand off his shoulder and spoke in a disdainful tone but avoided his gaze, "Go bother someone else, fat-ass. I'm not in the mood."

Po huffed crossed his arms at the boy's retort, "You're never in the mood for anything." He had tried many times to win over the child's good affections but the young cat simply wanted nothing from him, "Why?"

This time the snow leopard turned around and looked at the giant panda in his eyes. The child displayed such a threatening expression on his face that hatred didn't seem fit to describe it, "Because you wake up alive every single day, that's why!" Tai Lung allowed that to sink in before turning around and spoke with a certain threat yet joyful tone, "And if you don't fuck off I will tell everyone in this entire valley all about _you_ wearing a dress."

There was silence for a few second, mostly because Po was shocked by what he had just heard, hence the furious blush on his face, "What the- how did, that was, I was just stretching it out for a friend of my dad's!" _Did Tigress tell everyone?!_

Tai Lung simply smirked devilishly, "Try explaining that to the public, cross-dresser!"

He'd had it with the boy's constant bad attitude towards him and everyone else and Po was going to give him a piece of his mind as his anger grew in loads as seconds went by. The panda gripped his fists in frustration looking at the rebellious child shooting threats with his stare back at him. He didn't care if this would cause a scene or that people might think of him differently. But before he could let a single word escape his maw, his father appeared by his side, making the hot air in him blow out of his lips like a balloon, especially after looking at the goose's distressed face.

"Oh, Po, I'm so glad you're here! I need your help with a huge emergency!"

"What is it dad? Bandits? A fire? Little Jing's trapped down a well?"

"Uh, no, I just need you to help me during the dinner service."

Po just sighed deeply, slumped his shoulders and spun towards the kitchen where his father awaited, "Coming, dad."

Tai Lung then returned his attention back to the lion who hearkened everything that just happened and patiently waited for the cub to finish his ranting with the panda. He never knew what ran through his mind but the fact that he was asking questions to him, made Tai Lung realize that Jagter might be onto him. The teenager never bothered to walk up to anyone and get to know them, unless it was necessary like when he talked to Arc but know the snow leopard assumed the lion was getting suspicious.

His face displaying no emotion whatsoever, Tai Lung continued his previous conversation with the older feline, "Is there anything else you want to know about me, Jagter?"

The lion sensed that the cub was catching on with what he was doing and figured that there was no reason for him to be so secretive about it anymore, "Yes, and this is something I've been meaning to ask you for a while. Is your name Tai or Xue Zai?"

Tai Lung just stared at the lion, both of them carrying a no nonsense face and never avoiding each other's eyes, for this moment was crucial and they both knew it. If the snow leopard made it seem like he was indeed hiding something, surely, a smart predator like Jagter could pick up the scent and could spoil everything the smaller feline had been working on.

Thankfully the lion turned his attention to the crowd of people that entered the noodle shop courtyard. It was the Workshop children, the Furious Five, Shifu and, what Tai Lung presumed to be the reason of Jagter's attention, Arc and Naki, the former holding her from the back with his arms wrapped around her and nuzzling her neck affectionately.

Something bothered him, obviously, but Tai Lung was graceful for it because it made Jagter drop the concept and focused on his sister and the other male lion.

The snow leopard let out a deep breath feeling he was in the clear once again but he knew Arc was now being targeted by an older and very intimidating lion so there wasn't really time to drop his guard, not when his friend was going to be spied upon by Jagter.

Then Arc sat next to Tai Lung with that jolly grin on his face the snow leopard had gotten used to. "What have you been up to this whole time, Snow Cub?"

Just as the cub was going to answer Shifu took a seat near him and he thought it was a good time to mess with him a bit. "Oh nothing just getting food that my so called father wouldn't feed me!" Tai Lung said as loudly and casual as he could.

The red panda remembered what he had told the boy earlier that day for misbehaving. He had said that the boy was getting no supper for the day. It hadn't crossed his mind that Zai would use that against him, especially now that people were staring at him giving him disapproving looks. Shifu had to admit, to himself at least, he was starting to regret adopting the boy. He regretted letting that certain thought cross his mind just now. Maybe it was just his emotions getting in the way of his judgment like most of the time, he thought.

The old man simply waved off the child's attitude and the reactions of people and focused on satisfying his hunger. He looked around the restaurant's courtyard for any sign of Mr. Ping to take his order.

The Workshop members sat next to Arc, who was saving a seat next to him specifically for his lady love but once the male lion saw her over his shoulder, talking to Viper then noticing him and returned a flirty stare, he turned around and removed his paw from the seat next to him.

It's as if the archeologist realized something and he didn't want her, the girl of his dreams, to be anywhere near, if his worried expression was any indication.

Then everything disappeared as the gong rang.

Tai Lung snapped out of his reverie and returned to the present as the loud noise of morning gong woke him from his thoughts. He noticed that people began to open window shutters, doors and businesses and begin their daily routines simultaneously. _All that's needed is an alarm for them to move?_

He then turned his attention to the lion beside him who seemed not to be aware of his surrounding or anything else and the snow leopard was certain what the cause of it was.

Arc had gone to speak with Naki the other day, just like the snow leopard had told him, but what happened in that moment, when the archeologist revealed his arms, shocked both the lioness and the cub as well. Naki's surprise quickly turned to adoration for the male teenager, but Tai Lung only felt discomfort in him. How much has Arc lied to him and everyone else?

They were both quiet, not saying a word, just walking alongside each other, not even looking at the one another. They passed by houses, stores, still closed stalls, Alvar's mural of Tigress, the noodle shop, and to their surprise it wasn't even opened yet, and they kept walking without speaking to each other as if they both knew what the other cat beside them knew what the other was thinking about.

Once they had crossed the very last house and into the open fields of the farmlands, the snow leopard let out a sigh and spoke to the feline next to him, "Arc, about what I saw on your arms yesterday _and_ what I saw later when you spoke to Naki."

"I know you were there." Arc said still avoiding the child's gaze. Of course he knew Tai was spying on him, he was able to sense his weight on the floor by the doorway.

Tai Lung continued to speak, "And when I said 'go talk to her' I didn't mean for you to take off your armor and lie to her. You could have just enjoyed each other's company, you know, what teenagers do, I think."

This time Arc turned to look at the boy, a worried look on his features, "I had to do it. It's only a matter of time before everyone figured out my secret just like you did and if she found out she would have turned away from me!"

"How would you know, you didn't tell her the truth?!" The cub snapped back, "When she does find out the truth, she just might turn away from you!"

Tai Lung waited for the lion to answer but the bigger feline simply hung his head in silence. The snow leopard remembered in that instant how he used to be like around Shifu. The way he felt whenever his master commended him or that one day when he confused the meaning of love and displayed it in a way that even today, now that he understands perfectly, he couldn't imagine that, when he was a teenager, he actually had dreamt an entire scenario of him kissing the old man bathing together. Yes, it was just a dream and Tai Lung remembered that memory better now, instead of compress it, and he remembered waking up in a heap of sweat as he gasped loudly for breath after dreaming about doing inappropriate things to his master. What's even worse was that maybe he indeed viewed Shifu in that loving matter but why? He had hated the red panda for so long and still there were these sick feelings for him and all about this one absurd wet dream. Tai Lung just had to ignore his troubled thoughts and focus on his friend.

He sighed and spoke, "Listen, I know how it feels to love someone and I know from experience that it can become an unhealthy obsession…"

_Maybe that was just it. An obsession._

Arc spoke looking into the horizon, walking forward, his voice leveled, "Loving someone so much that it developed into something that it shouldn't. I've seen that happen a lot. It's Shifu, right?"

Tai Lung didn't answer; he just started back at the lion with a stricken look.

The lion turned to look at the cub, his face blank but not clueless, "I had wondered why you all of a sudden wanted to stay with him after he abandoned you, but after analyzing it carefully I think I know the reason why you decided to stay with him."

There was no doubt now, Arc truly was the person he should have kept a closer eye on if not, at least, being more careful around. But maybe the lion knew nothing and he was worrying too much. Yeah, that had to be it!

"You want to get revenge, don't you?" Arc added to Tai Lung's shock. To say the snow leopard was terrified was the least of his worries at the moment as he tried to process everything.

Seriously, how much exactly does Arc know about him that the lion is hiding? He had figured the snow leopard's plan but maybe he still had no idea of his real identity. The cub had underestimated the archeologist on more than one occasion and now he had to be extra careful around him.

The mood between them was still like earlier only this time there seemed to be some tension building up as they kept on walking forward. However, despite the thoughts coursing through Tai Lung, Arc quirked a smirked, looked at the cub and spoke in his usual cheerful tone.

"You know, for someone who is on a vendetta against an unsuspecting person, you sure did a terrible job at getting your vengeance!"

"How come?" Tai Lung asked but quickly bit down hard, regretting it, because with that follow-up question of his he had confirmed the lion's claims about him.

The snow leopard stared at the cat next to him as they both continued moving forward, waiting for him to speak and when he did it wasn't what the cub expected.

The bigger cat just smiled back at the boy, "If I were you, I would have been done with it months ago." There seemed to be this sudden upbeat pace in the lion's steps, "We better hurry up before Gongju and the others think we're not going. Come on, Tai Lung!" It was all Arc said before he suddenly sprinted off.

The snow leopard just stared at the lion running up a hill and stopped at the very top to look and turned back to the cub holding out his paw for the child to take.

Somehow, Arc always brought a smile to his face. Despite how moody Tai Lung could be, the lion seemed to bring the best out of him. But still, the fact that the other cat may know far more than he felt comfortable with made Tai Lung wonder what exactly does his fellow feline know about him. Does Arc know his secret?

_Okay, that's a scary thought! _

Or maybe Arc didn't know anything and the snow leopard was just being paranoid at fear of being discovered. Was his mind playing tricks on him? But he knew he could trust the archeologist, after all, no other person has ever been this kind and patient towards him. If the spotted feline wanted the lion to know his secret he had to make sure to make it go smoothly, patiently and drop a few hints here and there so that when the time comes at least it is not a big surprise to Arc.

He had been so caught up with the Patient One that he had barely noticed everything that had been going on around him. He had gotten to know Gongju better, even if it's just a bit, but none of his friends, though after hearing the story about their heist years ago had given him an idea of just the kind of people they are. Tai Lung felt rather guilty for not taking the time to know them better, especially seeing how happy Arc way to be reunited with them after so long. Hell, he hadn't even helped Arc try to romance Naki, even though he said he'll do it. The lion won his girl's heart all by himself without anyone aiding him.

He then looked at the lion, who still had his paw extended for the cub to take, and, just as he reached for the cat's hand, noticed the poorly stitched-on sleeves on the bigger feline's shirt. He felt bad for tearing his friend's clothing, especially since it seemed the archeologist didn't own a second change of clothes. "Sorry about your shirt." Tai Lung said as he accepted to hold hands.

"It's okay, I fixed it. See!" Arc pointed at the stitching on the sleeve.

Tai Lung smirked at the mediocre job the lion did on the stitching, "I guess you won't have to go back all the way to France to get a new one just like that!"

"Actually, I gave the fabric to Tia Ra, she was there, and she made it for me." The lion added.

"Wait, she made this shirt for you and she was in France at the same time?"

"Mhm, I went there right after Gongju and the others bid our farewells and I ran into her, she saw the fabric and tailored it into this new European style. She said she wanted to try out something new. She also said that I shouldn't be traveling the world without a shirt on, that's why she made it."

That was kind of her but then again she did provide Tai Lung clothing when his had disappeared and had to wear Arc's shirt.

The lion continued informing the cub, "That was when I met Frankie for the first time."

He remembered going to the rabbit's family restaurant, which she inherited once she was old enough to run the family business, and tasting the delicious whipped cream covered desserts with gusto. He got to know the rabbit simply out of interest and curiosity after seeing the young chef pull herself out of a hat. His sudden interest in the multi-talented rabbit led to him founding out about her dark secret with food, thanks to his sharp senses.

"Was that the first time you met Tia as well?" Tai Lung asked.

"No, I met her years before that, during this festive event, and she had Naki with her. I saw her bored and all alone so I approached her and we played tag all day long!" There was a quick silent moment as Arc joyfully recalled the events of that day in his head, "It wasn't long after until I realized I had a crush on her."

"How old were the two of you when you first met?"

"I was five and she was four." Arc responded without having to go through memory lane to remember specifics about his relationship with the lioness.

Tai Lung was able to see just how much the male teenager cared for his crush ever since he learned of who Naki is so it was no surprise to know that Arc could recall such little details about her.

"What event was this?" The snow leopard asked feeling as if that was important to know.

"I think it was fashion week and Tia showed one of her first collections ever on a runway after retiring from modeling. She was too busy with everything that Naki was left in a corner all by herself."

Arc smiled as memories flooded his head from back when both he and Naki were both very young cubs, playing games all day long with her trying to keep up with the energy-filled boy and him trying to keep his _dou-li_ from falling to prevent revealing his maneless head. _Yeah, just my maneless head…_

There was a quick silent pause from the lion but nevertheless he continued to speak.

"We became friends after that day. In fact, we kept crossing paths many times as we both traveled. Eventually, I just visited her and her family."

There always seemed to be this inner joy whenever Arc spoke of the teenage girl he had fallen for, something which would make anyone smile upon hearing the male lion's happy tone and mood. But Tai Lung knew that that, for the time being, was a front and he knew that his friend was trying to hide it.

"I guess you're regretting revealing yourself to her last night, aren't you?" The snow leopard said.

Arc remembered what the lioness told him right before he left her room the other day as she looked at him completely enamored to him, with eyes that shined and a warm smile that made his heartbeats go faster, Naki had said the one thing he had always wanted her to reveal to him: "I love you, Arc!"

And somehow, the male lion only felt the guilt of it all. What if she wanted to see his arms again or expected him not to wear them in her company at all? "She's never going to trust me ever again."

That sad face displayed on the lion sure hit a tender nerve because Tai Lung just couldn't bear to see his friend like that. "Arc, I know how it feels to love someone more than you should." He recalled the memory of the dream he had as a teenager once again, "When I was…" _I can't let him know my real age!_ "uh, younger, I had an addiction to Shifu." Then the image of him kissing the red panda appeared in his head and shivered in disgust, "Am I glad that's over!"

Arc gave a small smirk but no from bemusement it was more as if he knew something, almost as if he could see through the cub's words and see the truth.

"You and I are more alike than you think, Tai." That was all the lion said but the snow leopard wondered the reason for Arc to say that and after analyzing it, he could agree that his friend was right in some degree. They are both orphans in search of a purpose and approval, though, in a different matter for each.

Rays of warm light, from the rising morning sun, suddenly got in the way of the snow leopard's eyes. Tai Lung put his paw up in the air to block the bright emissions but it was still too strong so he turned his face away, towards the direction of the Jade Mountain. He looked up at the palace sitting on top of it and something dawned in his mind. At first he thought it would be ridiculous to ask the lion but as time went by it just kept getting more tempting.

"Arc, is Naki aware that you are leaving for a long journey?"

The lion jumped in surprise by the question and kept silent, trying to walk casually but his limbs were stiff as boards and his eyes wide as dinner plates. That was all Tai Lung needed to see to know the answer.

"You _are_ leaving without her knowing about it!

Arc lifted a finger defended himself, "No, I left a note."

Tai Lung just sighed and shook his head, "You'll just have to learn the hard way: never make someone wait without an explanation." _Trust me, I know all about that topic!_

Arc stayed quiet, a gloomy silence had settled around both felines as if what the lion felt could be sensed in the air.

Nevertheless, they continued their way to the old farmhouse, now visible within their view, and Arc noticed something as he stepped closer to the homestead, "Three of my friends are just up ahead."

And the lion was right. Only three members of the Workshop were waiting for them in front of the old abandoned farmhouse with the secret entrance to The Underground.

Tai Lung noticed a wooden pole, about ten feet high, buried and sticking out of the ground a few yards away from the farmhouse. _Was that there before?_

Taking his attention away from the beam and onto the two foxes, waiting under the farmhouse's porch, and cougar, playing a whimsical tune with his flute sitting cross legged on the steps of the terrace, Tai Lung asked the obvious question.

"Where's Gongju?"

Ralix was the one to answer as he sat leaning against the entrance door, "Penpal said he had to take care of something before we left. Speak with Shifu about something?"

Then the music stopped playing, "No, that's not what I said," Penpal said as he laid his flute on his lap "I said that he was going to meet Master Shifu because he had invited him to a morning meditation."

Tai Lung quirked a brow, "And how do you know that?"

"Master Shifu had asked me last night if I could play him a song during his morning meditation and I did." The cougar explained right before placing his flute on his lips and began playing the whimsical tune once more.

The snow leopard wasn't going to leave without Gongju, this was his last chance to find out the truth about the other snow leopard's past, and what worried him the most is that Shifu wanted to keep the leader of the Workshop for himself. Who knows what dangerous things the red panda will make the paraplegic feline do if he starts training in kung fu?

Tai Lung turned to Arc, "Maybe we should go make sure he can go up and down those stairs without harm."

To Arc it made no difference so he turned around without the snow leopard telling him to follow but Tai Lung felt that something was up, after all, since when does Arc does something with his friends around and doesn't say anything? And was he gripping his fists?

"We'll be here waiting." Wen said as she shined an apple against her clothes right before taking a bite.

Tai Lung scoffed at them, "None of you are concerned about his well-being? What if he trips and falls down the stairs?"

The vixen spoke, "Gongju always has a back-up plan and if he says that he's going all by himself, we all know that he can do it with no help from anyone and it's important to follow his orders when he gives them."

He might be a brilliant mind but Tai Lung wasn't going to take any chances, "Still, I think I should help." _And now I'm going to have to climb up those stairs again just so I can go down them… again!_

The two felines turned around to head back to the Jade Palace and on their way the snow leopard was able to sense something different in the mood that surrounded them.

Tai Lung looked at Arc who had a blank expression on his face but, unlike the ones he always featured, this time there was a certain focus in his stare, determination. But what was it? It couldn't be about what him taking off his armor, could it? Something definitely was up with the lion and it worried the snow leopard, especially when the taller feline turned his hands into fists and cracked his knuckles.

The cub visibly gulped. This was something he had never seen before. Arc was angry. _Who the hell pissed him off?_

* * *

The Hall of Heroes was as serene and silent as it always has been, at least when its rowdiest students aren't in it. But during that quiet morning the only ones who had been in it were none other than Master Shifu himself and Gongju. The latter had woken very early so as to join the old master in a meditation session.

The other night at Mr. Ping's restaurant the red panda had spent most of his time with the snow leopard, fascinated by him in many ways. The boy certainly showed skills and knowledge that were more than necessary for a kung fu master and he seemed to like the old master's company so the other night he had tried to make sure that the boy returned from his trip back to the Valley of Peace.

During dinner, while everyone ate, Shifu was getting to know more the crippled snow leopard, in a conversation about leadership, in the hopes that the boy would grow fond of him using his own method: comparing himself to Gongju.

He was surprised by how well it went that the child had opened up to the red panda and had gotten to know plenty about him. Shifu had no idea that a child could enjoy deep meditations and the study of Zen or the fact that someone so young could be a Zen master but the boy had proven he had what it takes to be just that.

The cougar boy had filled the room with grace from his flute earlier that morning. Shifu certainly hoped that boy, who was so kind to everyone, yet so timid about everything, would return one day to the valley, along with Gongju, of course.

And now he was sharing this quiet moment with someone who he could compare to, someone he felt he needed in his life and now was with him. Somehow, meditating in silence seemed to connect him with the child who had appeared in his life a few months ago, almost at the same time Zai did…

The silence grew around him.

Did he made the wrong choice?

But after a while of listening nothing but the universe around them, the red panda broke the serene silence between them.

"Master Gongju, will you ever come back to the Valley of Peace after this pilgrimage you are joining?"

The new tittle threw the boy off a bit but he answered nevertheless, "I'd been thinking about it and I think I will come back. You have been very nice to me since we've met."

_Maybe I should try this comparing technique on Xue Zai._ Shifu thought.

He had heard from the story Arc had told Zai enough information about the crippled feline but the red panda acted as if he knew nothing at all, "Do you have a home to go to?"

He was hoping that this would lead to a situation that the boy says he wishes he had a place to stay and Shifu would offer him to stay at the Jade Palace. But the boy didn't give him an answer he was expecting or one that would follow up accordingly to his planned conversation.

"My friends are my home." Gongju said, plain and simple, without opening his eyes and without any doubt in his voice.

The red panda huffed in bemusement to the boy's words. "A roof over your head is a home. Friends may give you company but that is all they can ever be."

Yet, the child still sat there in complete serenity and answered, "Family is where your home is, Master Shifu, and my friends are my family."

The boy was too wise for the red panda to outsmart with words, he knew that, but he still wished to convince him to return. Might as well be blunt about it!

"I suppose you're right. Anyway, feel free to come back to the Valley of Peace when you and your friends are done with your little adventure."

Gongju smiled and nodded, "Ok."

_That was easier than what I thought!_ But Shifu wasn't done trying to convince the boy. "Gongju," he waited until the boy answered with a '_hm?_', "would you ever be interested in learning kung fu?"

The boy hearkened quietly everything the old man had said to him that morning but now his silence felt different, like if there was discomfort in his perpetual calm demeanor, "I have considered it but I can't stay put for long."

To that Shifu felt confused, "How come?"

The boy answered without having to think it over, "People out there need my help and if I decide to stay in one place someone might not get the aid he, or she, needs."

Could there truly be someone so humble and good? Still, the old man smiled at the boy's words, for certainly, he spoke the truth and Shifu couldn't be more proud of him, "If you ever need a place to stay, the Jade Palace will always have its doors open for you."

"You're awfully very kind to me, Master Shifu, why is that?"

He had been too obvious, hasn't he? "Um, I," _Come on, don't come off as a creepy old coot._ "I guess I like your company."

The boy, still in his meditation position, quirked a small smile, "I'll see if I can make the trip as fast as possible."

"Be careful, The Underground can be very dangerous."

Gongju's expression changed to one of either confusion or curiosity, "I never said where my friends and I were going."

Shifu bit down his jaw hard as he regretted what he just said. Surely, an intelligent person like the snow leopard could figure out how the red panda came to know where he was going. He had been spying on him and his friends, after all.

Finally, the feline got out of his peaceful formation and got up, feeling like he had overstayed his welcome, especially, after Shifu had revealed the knowledge of where he and his friends were going in the pilgrimage.

"I think it's time for me to get going." Gongju bowed to the old master, "Thank you for your hospitality, Master Shifu."

The boy unfolded his wheelchair from its backpack form and rested himself on it but just as he turned to leave, the red panda grabbed a hold on the chair, stopping the child on his tracks.

"Wait. Before you go, I would like to give you something for your services to the Valley of Peace."

The red panda then pulled out of a wooden box, which was behind the Moon Pool, and opened it, revealing a green shirt with gold embroidery around the collar and the sleeves' cuffs.

Gongju was left speechless by the offering. He didn't know whether to accept it or refuse taking it, "It's beautiful, Master Shifu, but I can't accept it."

"Why not?"

That shirt could only belong to someone else and that was the Zai, "Because it's not mine."

Shifu understood what the boy meant by that. "It used to belong to someone else but it is not Xue Zai."

The snow leopard gave it a closer look and realized that it was about his size so surely it wouldn't fit the four year old.

"Are sure he won't mind?"

"I'm sure of it."

Master Shifu could sense the uneasy feeling inside of the boy. Maybe the boy is that humble that he doesn't accept gifts. Then again, he's wearing Tai Lung's old pants when he was that age, he won't mind wearing this shirt.

The boy, reluctantly, accepted the gift, got up from his chair and tried it on. The old man watched as the child robed himself as the image of Tai Lung accepting the gift and happily putting it on filled his head and made his eyes swell a bit.

"It fits like a charm." Shifu said as he examined the boy wearing his new piece of attire as things became clear to him. There was no doubt about it anymore. Gongju was the spitting image of Tai Lung at that age.

The snow leopard smiled, feeling very comfortable in the shirt but also because he had never owned anything so luxurious. But he remembered that he had an attending matter to take care of and bowed once more to the red panda. "My friends must be tired of waiting for me. Thank you for the gift, Master Shifu."

Rights as the snow leopard rested his body on his chair, two black silhouettes appeared by the entrance, their bodies being obscured by the opposing sun, but both red panda and snow leopard could tell who they were.

The old master's expression hardened and he straightened his stature, "Xue Zai, Arc, shouldn't you two be waiting in the barracks with the rest of the students?" Shifu said with authority, directing a disapproving look at the two young felines. Those two had misbehaved since the day he took them in and now they were showing their undisciplined actions in front of a guest. He was not going to let them ruin the Jade Palace's name and surely there would be a punishment for both of them but now was the time for scolding. "Why do you two choose to be an inconvenience to others? Honestly, I can't tell which one of you is the bad influence because both of you are just as-"

"Shut up!"

There was nothing but silence except for the echoes' of the shout.

The room was still silent after those words were roared by the angry cat standing in the doorway but what surprised everyone was that it came from Arc of all people.

The lion strode forward, shoulders straight, with something that Tai Lung and probably no one else has ever seen on his face: a serious expression with his eyes blazing with determination directed at the red panda, and yet the feline sported a blank expression. Truly, the most intimidating image Tai Lung had ever witnessed.

Arc, without moving his gaze from the red panda, spoke, "Gongju, please exit the Hall. You too, Snow Cub. Shifu and I have important matters to take care of."

"And what would that be, Arc?" For some odd reason, the old master dreaded hearing the lion's answer.

"The very same reason why I came to this place a few months ago."

The old man could feel the tension in the air, especially because it was rising quickly.

"And that is?"

"To teach you a lesson." Arc said, pointing an accusing finger at the diminutive man.

Shifu could feel tension building up inside the lion and he braced himself for whatever the teenager was up to. "Shouldn't that be the other way around?" The red panda responded. He then noticed the smaller snow leopard carrying a rucksack on his back, "Xue Zai, you're going somewhere?"

"This is between you and me." The lion said, almost a whisper, but audible for everyone to hear, so as to force the old man's attention to him.

Shifu raised an eyebrow in utter confusion. The lion seemed perfectly normal (normal enough) last night. "What has gotten into you? Why all of a sudden do you find me so displeasing?"

Arc stayed quiet for a moment but nevertheless he spoke, but not to Shifu, to the snow leopard in the wheelchair, "Gongju, please take Snow Cub outside."

Both snow leopards just stared at the lion and after a while of nothing, just silence as Arc stood there, never letting his eyes escape from Shifu's form, and no one else moved out of confusion of the current situation, the archeologist spoke once more.

"Suit yourself."

With that said, the red panda scowled at the teenager. Not only was Arc disrespecting him, the lion's master, but Gongju, his guest. Of course, the old man straighten his posture placed his hands behind his back and cleared his throat.

"If you wish to leave on a journey that's fine but Xue Zai stays here, with me." Shifu said with a calm demeanor but the harshness in his voice was evident.

Arc, who had not moved his eyes from the red panda's gaze, nor did he blink once, pointed a finger towards the old man. "You think he's safer here with you!"

There was a hint of mockery in the lion's angry voice and Shifu was concerned about it. Never had the lion spoken in such a manner to someone. But, he still responded, clarifying certain things for the obviously confused feline, "And why shouldn't he be safe with me? A warm, safe home in which he is protected by masters of kung fu and where he can learn everything he needs for when he grows older?"

Arc said nothing. His face still expressionless but his eyes seemed to grow angrier. Once again, he lifted his finger to point at the old master and spoke with a cold unbiased tone, "You live here. That's not exactly what I consider 'safe'."

This conversation could go on forever but Shifu wasn't going to let one bad seed spoil the rest, especially his recently adopted son. He was going to be a better role model and prove that he could be great teacher overall. The red panda now stepped forward, towards the lion, and spoke in a way intended to scold the feline, "You are a bad influence on him and probably on every other person you have ever come in contact with."

Arc snapped and held two fingers in the air, "Two things: first: you're a bigger one, and second: at least my nose doesn't resemble a pointy nipple!"

_What?_ He blushed as he fingered his nose. That sudden statement threw him off but soon regained enough composure to speak to the lion but it came as shouting, "What exactly have I done to be a bad influence on society? I don't walk around in the nude, parading myself for everyone to see, never caring about if others are disturbed by my selfish actions!"

The lion used the fingers of his right hand to count of everything he could remember, "Does doing drugs, drinking barrel loads of liquor, posing naked and being fucked by strangers to avoid reality count? Oh and you allowed that to be paraded all over the valley too!"

Shifu had no response to that. None whatsoever. "That's behind me… I'm a better person now because of it."

"_Are_ you a better person?" The lion pressed on as he slowly stepped towards the small man, "You run away from your problems to the point that it affects everyone around you!" Arc stopped right in front of the red panda and leaned his head down so as to not only look at the old man in the eyes but look down on him, "You actually have the arrogance, the _nerve_, to call out others for their flaws, their shortcomings and their mistakes when you can't even face reality! You can't even make your own children love you!" He shouted that last part.

"You insolent brat!" The red panda spat out instantly. He let go of his composure and looked angrier than anyone had ever seen him as he strode towards the teenager in front of him. He was going to make him clean every inch of the Jade Mountain. He jumped on the feline's shoulder and was grasped a tuft of hair from his mane but to his shock Arc grabbed his wrist hard, twisting it and pressing his fingertips on the flesh, and held the diminutive man in midair so as to look at him in the eyes.

"First time I can forget about but a second time is unforgivable!" The archeologist said as he fluffed the area Shifu had touched of his mane, "Never touch my mane again! A lion's mane is a lion's greatest asset. It's like a unicorn's horn or boobs on a cheerleader!"

The old master, still held by the cat only closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment, despite that his wrist hurt. "I had seen great potential in you, Arc," he opened his eyes and avoids the lion's gaze, "but I can see you choose to follow the wrong path, the path in which honor does not exist."

Shifu bit down on his teeth hard as Arc gripped his wrist even harder

"What wrong path? Living my life the way I want and not devote myself into something which I consider a waste of time and carelessly forcing it down people's throats? That's the wrong path in life?"

Shifu gripped his fists in frustration. The lion was now insulting him in a deeper level.

"This is not what Master Oogway-"

The lion didn't let him finish his statement. In fact, Arc made sure the red panda lost his composure after what he shouted next, "If your master was still alive, you'd be doing what you always did: you'd be on your knees licking his balls like the hopeless whore that you are!" It worked. Shifu's gaze and scowl had grown colder, meaning the teenager had crossed the line but the feline wasn't done speaking, "I'm taking Snow Cub with me, away from you!"

Tai Lung couldn't imagine what he had just heard the lion say. Surely, this wasn't going to end up in a peaceful matter now. Gongju, on the other hand, knew from the start that this was going to escalate into a fight just as soon as he saw Arc angry, walking towards the red panda.

The lion then released the old master's wrist free and the small man landed swiftly on his feet. Shifu readied himself, for he knew that the lion wasn't going to reason with him peacefully. He took a stance, gesturing the feline to do so as well.

"I promise I'll make this quick." Was all the red panda said, his stare as cold as ice.

"I can't make that promise to you." Arc responded with complete disinterest but he did raise his knee to chest height and stood on one leg.

Shifu could tell what he was doing: distracting him so as not to notice the feline's arms when he attacks. What came next was the last thing that crossed the red panda's thoughts. Arc stretched out his leg with incredible speed, one that caught the old man by surprise, but the lion stopped his foot from harming the old man, resting his foot against Shifu's face.

The red panda simply stared at the lion's joyful face past his outstretched toes, his nose was between two of them, as the teenager wiggled his foot digits.

"Toes on your face!"

One thing was for certain for Shifu, if Arc had gone through with the attack, he could have been finished off in one move with a powerful kick. Still, the red panda didn't waver as he spoke to the feline with his foot on his face with an unenthusiastic tone.

Was Arc even trying to fight him or was he being his usual abnormal self? As Shifu figured the lion was posing no threat to him, he lowered his guard, "I thought you were going to fight me." _I guess I was just overthinking it. Assuming my student would harm me just because he's angry at me._

But the little relief Shifu had obtained was cut short when Arc replied, "I wanted to do that."

In that instant the lion tightened his toes around the red panda's snout and lifted the old man as he gripped on his face with his foot and without hesitation and with incredible speed and strength, Arc slammed him against the floor.

Shifu had no time react to the lion's attack because like always he didn't take him seriously but there was another reason: his body didn't respond him properly. As he laid beneath the teenager's foot and tried to budge out of the boy's weight but the feline, still gripping tight the old man's snout, kicked forward, releasing the red panda once the momentum was perfect for the old man to fly off to against the wall holding the One Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu, which by impact made them either rumble or fall down from their cubbyholes.

The lion had always been an unusual person and what the red panda had just witnessed and suffered was proof of it. Arc had done the exact opposite of what Shifu thought; he showed him the attack he was going to do to distract his enemy. This might be more difficult than what he anticipated, especially since as he tried to get up, he found it difficult to move as easily as he always did and it wasn't because of being hurled against the wall.

Arc just kept walking slowly towards his collapsed form of the red panda. Tai Lung, who was watching the whole dispute between lion and master, stared completely still. He had no idea what had caused this friend's reaction. _Since when does Arc get angry?! He's never been truly pissed before. What caused this?_

On the other hand, the red panda was experiencing something different. What was wrong with his body? Shifu couldn't contemplate what could have happened to make his being work inappropriately, if only his arm would stop stinging him. And that's when it hit him. The spot where Arc had grabbed on the old man's arm was swollen and throbbing. _Just what on the Heavens did he do?_

The teenager gave a toothy smile, "I guess you've noticed that your body isn't following your every command!"

Shifu looked up to the lion with a worrisome look, "What did you…?"

"Forbidden Chi-block Technique, invented by masters of kung fu during the Shang Dynasty." Arc explained.

Silence followed after the lion's statement. Gongju looked between the startled red panda and just as surprised Zai, thinking what exactly did Arc say that was so surprising. _Surely there must be scrolls from that time and era in this place._

Shifu and Tai Lung both stared at the teenager with a stricken look. The red panda closed his hanging jaw but opened it once more to speak, "How could that be? That technique was lost centuries ago!"

"I found the how-to scroll in the remains of a monastery, it was buried beneath about a mile beneath the earth."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone you knew so much of kung fu?"The red panda asked sounding completely dumbfounded, though he was.

Arc just stared with a blank face, "You never asked."

What other things could Arc know? Seriously, Shifu was starting to regret not getting to know the lion better he could have learned lost kung fu techniques.

Arc simply took a stance and gestured the red panda to attack.

"What is the importance of hurting me?" Shifu asked as he rubbed his wrist.

"Just consider this late justice!" Arc responded holding his stance.

Shifu had to think how to put an end to this dispute as fast as possible. He took a closer look at the lion but wasn't able to see a clear weak point and his wrist was starting to sting like a fresh burn mark and it visibly throbbed along with his heartbeat.

Arc noticed the old man's discomfort, "Right now, you can feel the chi-block growing gradually, as it is supposed to do, can't you?" There was disdain in the teenager's voice.

The red panda just looked back at the feline, with a very well-disguised hurt look, "What did I ever do to make you attack me?"

Arc tilted his head to the side but his stare intensified as the words left his mouth, "Does _Da Xia_ ring a bell?"

Shifu's eyes shot wide open and his pupils contracted to a barely visible dot. His jaw quivered. How could anyone know about his connection to her?

In a desperate attempt, Shifu jumped away and climbed up the nearest pillar.

The teenager knew what the red panda was up to and he wasn't going to let him hide and regain strength. Arc smirked as he looked around the Hall of Heroes "You can't hide from me."

Arc then stretches his toes, sinking his nails in the hard floor, and firmly presses against the ground he stands. His breathing leveled and his ears picking up the sounds of his surroundings, the lion didn't move from his spot as he centered his vision to a specific target.

"Peek a boo, Shifu!"

The lion then positioned himself and made a fighting stance, his fist ready to fight, and yet the old master wasn't anywhere visible or in any of the feline's range.

Tai Lung wondered what Arc intended to do but just as he questioned that, the lion made his move. The teenager gave a punch to the air, angled directly pointing at one of the pillars and before the snow leopard could even question the reason for this, because right after the lion had thrown his fist to the air, Master Shifu had flown off the opposite side of the pillar and hit the wall as if Arc's attack had flown, went through the pillar and made physical contact with the red panda or maybe that is what just happen.

"How did he…?" _The Aura Force!_ Tai Lung thought; it was the only possible solution. He had no idea it could be used in such a way. Hitting opponent from a distance, now that's quite an advantage.

Master Shifu slipped down the wall and landed on the ground with a sick thud and a moan of pain as he placed his hand against his back, trying to numb the pain away. As long as that chi-block remained, there was no chance that he would be able to fight.

Arc just stared at the old man lying on the floor. His face carried that blank expression that he is well known for and his pace towards the red panda was slow and calm, not menacing in the least and yet, to Tai Lung, that was the most terrifying thing he had seen in his life.

The lion stood a few feet away from the old master struggling to get on his feet. Shifu reached for his deceased master's staff and used it to hoist himself up. Arc then, without thought, kicked the stick away, making the red panda fall on his knees, holding himself up by placing his hands forward.

The teenager just looked down on the old man, gasping for air, with a cold stare, "Snow Cub is coming with me, Shifu."

Shifu, on the other, rouse to his feet, though groggily, and shot back the cold hard stare the lion was giving him as he tried to control his breaths, "You- you have disgraced kung fu, Arc. I thought there was potential for you. That all you needed was the proper guidance, a good role model, to become a model citizen…" He closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment, "I was wrong." He then opened his eyes once more and took a step forward, despite the pain provided by the chi-block, "You are not taking my son away with you and I will not let that happen!"

Arc, now visibly angry, strode forward pointing a finger to the old master and shouted what had been eating him this whole all time, "You want to keep him here, locked away from what he wants and _now_ you want to do the same to Gongju!"

Arc then prepared to launch another attack but Shifu, being the fast person that he is moved out of the lion's sight, this time making sure to keep himself in movement by jumping from pillar to pillar, avoiding the lion's keen senses and attacks.

"It wasn't bad enough that you harmed and ruined the lives of every child you ever decided to call your own. _Now_ you want to do the same to Gongju!"

The lion on the other hand just throwing punches, using the Aura Force, in the air, aimed at random pillars, hitting nothing in the end. He knew that if he was going to take down the red panda, he needed to keep up, especially before the chi-block's effects wear off.

Shifu, on the other hand, felt that if he kept this up, the lion would surely grow tired of attacking though what the feline had done to his wrist truly was making him feel heavier, slower and somehow that certain spot shot out a stinging sensation to the rest of his body. He dared to stay in one place, gather his strength and peek at the teenager and was surprised to see that the feline wasn't doing anything, just squatting down in a horse stance with both fist by his sides and both eyes closed tightly, as if trying to gain power. Whatever he was up to, Shifu suspected it would mean trouble if he expected to take down the angered feline later on and now seemed like a good chance to strike and put an end to the lion's tantrum.

He hopped down from his hiding place and sprinted toward the feline, preparing himself to do a finishing blow but just as he was about to attack his opponent, the lion kicked forward and gripped on the red panda's snout once again with his toes and lifted the old man from the floor, drew him closer to his body, whispered: 'toes on your face!' and then stretched out his leg forward, releasing Shifu, sending the old master flying across the hall.

Unlike the first time, Arc didn't mean to injure the red panda this time around, just keep him at bay. Shifu regained his composure, feeling the chi-block losing its effect on his body. Now he knew he could take down the lion easily, after all, none of the Furious Five were able to keep up with even when they all worked together.

Once again, he sprinted towards the lion, this time, however, a bit more cautious then before but once he was close enough to attack the feline, the red panda was surprised that Arc had vanished in thin air.

Both Gongju and Tai Lung stared in awe at what they had just witnessed. Sure, the situation between Shifu and Arc was worthy of such a reaction but when the lion had disappeared in a blur, it made both snow leopard's eyes widen in amazement. Arc didn't vanish, he just moved out of the way of the red panda very fast. Even the old master was astonished by this feat.

The red panda asked once he got a better look at the lion. The teenager's pupils were contracted, every muscle in his body seemed tense and his breathing had become louder and deeper. "What technique is this?" Shifu asked.

"Based on the ancient techniques of slowing down or making your blood flow faster," The lion explained but then he added an extra piece of information, "I call it the Lion's Fury."

He had read of those old techniques in ancient scrolls but, like the Chi-block performed earlier, it has been lost to the world for centuries. Master Shifu only stood amazed once more, if the lion had mastered such a technique then his chances in winning this fight were slim but also because he knew the price one would pay for performing the ancient move.

"You realize that by making your heart beat faster as well as making your metabolic processes do the same, you shorten your life's span." The red panda said as he stared in astonishment at the lion.

Arc got out of his stance and positioned himself to attack, "Of course I do. I'm not an idiot!"

Shifu hated to admit it, to himself, but Arc truly was starting to worry him. The feline was far more advanced than any teenage kung fu practitioner should be, like Tai Lung at that age, and he knew secrets of martial arts that probably no one else knew about. Then the feline vanished once more and Shifu couldn't even pick up his location, not even with his sharp hearing. He was only able to sometimes hear faint steps but couldn't tell where they came from until it was too late.

Arc appeared out of nowhere and swiped at the red panda's feet, toppling him over and aimed another fist down on his collapsed opponent, to which Shifu evaded, barely, as the red panda witnessed the lion's knuckles make contact with the floor, resonating the impact like a wave across the entire chamber, where he was not less than a second ago.

But just as the lion retracted his fist, he vanished in a blur and Shifu wasn't able to react quickly to the assault of attack he received even though Arc wasn't even hitting him, running around the small man in circles while throwing punches from remoteness.

Tai Lung saw how the old master was being beaten by an invisible force and he knew what that was as soon as he noticed Arc sending punches flying directed straight for Shifu as the archeologist stood many feet away, as if the wind created by the punches were are actually harming the opponent. The snow leopard was amazed by the attack, he had no idea the lion knew about it or that it could be used in such a way. _Hitting opponents from a distance… the possibilities!_

The array of attacks suddenly stopped, making Shifu fall on his knees and gasp for air. Arc simply stared at the beaten old man with a blank stare. His breathing seemed to return to normal and his muscles relaxed, indicating the Lion's Fury to be over and that Arc had won the battle.

_That reminds me: I should never piss him off. EVER!_ Tai Lung thought.

But just as those thoughts passed through the snow leopard's head, Arc collapsed on his knees, drained from energy by the technique that had provided him with an edge in the battle. Apparently, there was a price to pay for using such a powerful attack.

"If you still think I'm done, think again, Shifu!" Arc shouted at the old man trying to get a hold of himself after the beating he received. The lion then cracked his knuckles, "I'm here to deliver your long due meeting with justice!"

Master Shifu had regained himself and stood up, groggily, but never the less, made a stance and charged at the kneeling lion with great speed, planning to end this dispute in one blow.

Tai Lung ran towards Arc, hoping to stop whatever attack the red panda was going to deliver but was held back by Gongju as the older snow leopard wrapped his arms around the boy's body.

"Stop, don't get involved!"

"This fight is about me. I'll put an end to it!" Tai Lung responded.

Then they both turned their attention to where the lion was kneeling after they both heard a loud smack echo through the entire room.

To their amazement, Arc had caught the red panda by both his fists. Shifu tried to break free but it was futile. He had no idea how physically strong the teenager truly was until now, as he struggled to break free but the feline's grip didn't even slip a little. He knew that he had fallen directly into the lion's trap once he saw the smirk on Arc's face.

The lion gripped harder the red panda's wrists, performing the Chi-block technique on both arms. Once again, Shifu was helpless to Arc's attacks. The old man felt the stinging sensation getting more and more unbearable as the teenager executed the attack. Just like that, he was once again vulnerable to pretty much any strike sent his way. The feline then leaned closer to now worried master, his face serious, not blank.

"Don't ever get near Snow Cub _ever_ again!"

Then with all his strength, Arc brought his fist hard against Shifu's abdomen. The air was knocked out of his opponent as his eyes grew wider as the seconds passed. The lion let go of the old man and allowed him to crumple on the floor, motionless from the chi-block but mostly because of the punch to the gut.

Arc turned to the two snow leopards and was all smiles like he always is, "Ready to go!" The lion then turned to the cat on the wheelchair, "You too, Gongju! Hope you packed everything you need!" The lion grabbed his backpack and gestured the two to follow, "It's going to be a long trip!"

"Stop!"

Everyone turned around to Shifu, struggling to his feet. Even after Arc had given him a double dose of the chi-block attack, he was still fighting except this time he won't last long.

"Why…?" The red panda asked. His head staring at the ground, "Why do you wish to go on this trip? Aren't you happy here, Xue Zai?

After hearing the words, Tai Lung walked to his adopted father's side and waited for the master to look up. When Shifu did in fact lifted his head, and saw the boy looking at him with big, sad eyes, the young snow leopard answered his question with a barely audible voice.

"I- I have to." The boy said and paused to swallow and take inhale, "My family…"

Tai Lung wasn't even able to finish what he wanted to say. It was difficult of him to talk about it, especially since he has never spoken to anyone about that situation. However, the red panda understood once the boy had mentioned the word 'family' and gave a small smile with a nod to his son. The boy needed this, he needed to find peace of mind and somehow this journey he'll embark on was the key to that.

Arc walked to Tai Lung's side but made sure not to look at the old master's gaze, "I'll take care of him so don't worry about his safety. I promise."

The master heard the lion spoke the truth, the cat's voice showed determination and honesty, and nodded in return. Finding it difficult to speak, thanks to the chi-block, and he slowly rested his body on the floor and dozed off, knowing he will certainly feel even more pain when he wakes up. _Why do I have to be such a downer?_

The lion then stared at the oldest snow leopard, his face blank as his eyes showed the curious clueless expression the lion was known for, "Gongju, Snow Cub and I are ready to leave, are you?"

"I am." His friend responded. He still felt rather shocked by what had just occurred in front of him, especially seeing Shifu's battered form lying on the floor.

Arc noticed his friend's discomfort, as well as Tai's, so he smiled at them, knowing there was no better cure for glumness, "Lead the way, then." The lion gestured the exit and allowed the older snow leopard to turn his chair around and move towards the entrance.

As the two oldest felines exited the hall, Tai Lung just stayed put staring at the collapsed form of the red panda and slowly strode to him. Was he really alright? Did Arc overdo it? And why was he worried about him at all? Wasn't him the one who had caused him pain?

He slowly stepped towards the red panda, whose breaths were uneven, but stopped moving forward just when the old man laid in front of him. He stared at him, feeling somewhat guilty for what just happened, even though it was Arc who did it. He was about to place a paw on the old man but he stopped as Tai Lung heard the master moan loudly.

"Go, Xue Zai…" Shifu said in a barely audible whisper. He didn't move nor did he attempt to do so but the old master continued to speak to his son, as much as his injured body allowed, "There are things far more important in life…" He paused to take deep breaths but nevertheless sustained, "family is a virtue and if you going on this journey will bring you peace then I cannot come between you and that." This time he lifted his head and looked straight at the boy and offered a reassuring smile, "Good luck and be safe, my son."

With no more strength left in him, the red panda collapsed once more, this time dozing off in the process.

Tai Lung left the master's sleeping form and followed after the lion, who was waiting for the boy to join him by the door.

Arc looked at him with a serious face, that rare expression, "You sure you are ready?"

Tai Lung nodded. "I am." This journey was important. If what the lion told him was true there might be clues in The Underground about the Patient One.

The teenager then turned to the direction of the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, "Gongju said to meet him by the peach tree."

"Why?" Tai Lung asked and with good reason, after all, they are supposed to go to down the steps to reach the farm.

"He wouldn't have told us to go there if it weren't necessary."

They walked to the tree and Tai Lung noticed that Arc had absolutely no sign of battle damage on him. Not even exhaustion; in fact, it's as if the battle which just took place didn't even happen. The lion merrily strode as he usually does. What happened to the pissed off beast that mercilessly kicked Shifu's ass without regret? _Maybe it's better not knowing that._

By the peach tree, the older snow leopard child was pointing his crossbow to the distant sky as he measured a rope that was tied around the tree itself and the other end was knotted at the opposite end of an arrow, which the crippled feline placed in his weapon.

Tai Lung had no idea why they were there and the purpose of the other snow leopard to be doing whatever that he was doing. This was just time consuming; they could have been almost halfway down the steps by now, "Gongju, what exactly are you aiming at?"

The older snow leopard didn't answer but he did shoot the arrow to the skies above and it soared above the entire valley until finally landing somewhere not visible in plain eyesight.

Somehow, Arc did know where it landed and it made him excited knowing what was coming next, "Ooh, I see what you did!

"Then would you like to do the honors?" Gongju said as he handed over his crossbow to the lion.

"Would I!"

The lion took the crossbow and placed Gongju on his shoulder. "You too, Snow Cub."

Without giving the boy an explanation as to what he was going to do, Arc grabbed the younger snow leopard and placed him on his other shoulder. "You two ready?"

"Ready." Gongju said as he covered his eyes with goggles, a leather strap around his head with glass cylinders for protection.

Tai Lung saw the precaution the other snow leopard took and looked worried as he answered, "Um, ready?"

The lion then took a big inhale and ran towards the ledge. "Hold on tight." Arc said right before he jumped off, both snow leopards holding firmly of whatever part of the lion they could. The three felines flew through the air, zipping down the rope, high above the entire valley.

Tai Lung stared at the amazing view with wide eyes filled with astonishment. He had never wondered something he had seen for most of his life could be seen in such a different way from a different angle. It was beautiful.

The nice breeze from the fast speed they were zipping down sure felt nice. Especially for both snow leopards since their pelts were very thick. Tai Lung had stared in amazement at everything: the village, the citizens, the mountains in the distance and the sky, because, to him, it was the closest he had ever felt to it.

And then the ground came closer and closer and that's when the ride came to an abrupt end as Arc's feet made contact with a wooden post. Both the snow leopards tilted forwards but didn't fly off from the lion as the two of them held tightly to the taller cat. Tai Lung realized where they had landed and looked around to see if it were true and it was.

They were right in front of the farmhouse and the three remaining members of the Workshop stood up from their respective spots but it was Ralix who ran straight to the three felines.

"Hey what took ya'll so long?" The male red fox said. A bemused smile forming on his face seeing the two snow leopards hanging on to the lion by his shirt sleeves.

"I had to take care of something first, no biggie!" Arc responded casually.

Then, something clicked in Tai Lung's head. Gongju had placed the log there in order to zip down a rope he was going to shoot from the Jade Palace so as not having to walk down the steps and the journey to the farmhouse. He thought about all of that ahead of time. They were right. He truly does think of everything!

Gongju hopped down from the lion and landed on his unfolded wheelchair, "I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting for too long?"

Wen waved it off, "Don't worry about it. That idiot panther kept us entertained."

"Panther?" Both snow leopards asked in unison.

They got their answer as Alvar helped Tai Lung off of the teenager, "Little boy who curses a lot, Arc, you two are going on a trip too?"

_Great, now we have to deal with him on this journey?_ Tai Lung grumbled to himself.

Arc responded the panther's question, "Yup and if that pack you are carrying is any indication, you too are going on a trip a well."

"You bet we are! Xovius and I are going to visit a matchmaker named Xinla."

"I think I've heard of her?" The vixen added with a hint of uncertainty in her tone. And that's when it hit her: Xinla was the person she thought about when the panther crashed through Tigress' ceiling, in an attempt to seduce her, but she forgot after all the events that took afterward.

However, it was Xovius who continued to speak for Alvar, "She lives in Shenzhu City and Alvar heard that you guys were going to The Underground." The panther then looked at the red fox, who tried to hide from everyone. His sister then eyed him with her arms crossed. A look that said: 'you have some explaining to do'.

The red fox gave in easily, "Okay, I told him last night! He was at the noodle shop."

Everyone then turned to the person nearest to them and blinked in utter confusion.

Last night the panther had been trying to get the attention of the striped feline who had captured his heart simply to say his farewells for the time being until, of course, he returned… to seduce her. That was when Ralix stood in his way, trying to stop another fit from Tigress and wrecking Ping's shop. That was how the boy slipped the whole details of the trip he and his friends were going to take.

Gongju smiled fondly at the fox, "Good, it will be like our first heist. Alvar could come in useful." Despite being allowed to go with the group, the panther still seemed unsure of something, "What about Xovius, can't he come?"

"Yes."

"Good, now I won't have to worry about you having no one to talk to!" The unaccented voiced cat said but soon after saying that, he turned his head to the opposite direction and his voice gained the accent that Xovius is so well known for, "I've got posse of cheating housewives, I would've been perfectly fine here but you're hopeless without me, Alvar."

The silver vixen then grabbed her brother by the ear and pulled him aside.

"Sorry sis, I didn't mean to make a pervert join us!" Railx cried out as he flailed his arms.

"You're lucky he's going to carry the heavy bags!" Wen replied and eyed the panther, who saw her expression and picked up all the luggage in a flash and smiled cheekily in return.

_Being a bossy boots has its benefits!_ The vixen thought with a devious smile curling her lips.

Arc retracted the crossbow from the rope and handed it to its owner, "Well, what are waiting for? Let's go, everyone! Gongju, did you build the thing that I told you to build?"

The snow leopard nodded, "It's here but what exactly do you want with this thing?"

At the farmhouse's porch, the vixen unveiled a machine about the size of the four year old feline. That caught the eye of that very same cat.

Tai Lung took a closer look at the contraption both Arc and Gongju were talking about. From a first glance he can say he has no idea what it is but once he eyed it closer the snow leopard was at least able to identify possible uses, after all, it had a drill on one end, two handles on the sides and at the other end there was a metallic cube with a key sticking out on top of it, probably for the gears and bolts that made the machine work.

Then the leader of the Workshop strolled to the porch and turned around so as to see his team members, "Let's get going, everyone! We have a long journey ahead of us!"

The two foxes, cougar and lion nodded and followed the snow leopard, Arc even helping him up the porch's steps. Alvar followed after them as he inspected his provisions for the trip before entering the house. And now Tai Lung was all alone, outside as he second guessed himself about this journey. He could start a new life as a new person here but there was that sensation in him of wanting to know the truth, to uncover if that ghost child truly was Lei, or any other one of the children…

"Snow Cub, come on or you'll fall behind!" Arc called out from inside the house.

Tai Lung forced a smiled and ran inside.

* * *

It was such a wonderful morning. Training was never as difficult as being surrounded by a bunch of brothers and now she laid in her bed after completing her daybreak lesson, instructed by Master Viper, though, she noticed that a certain lion wasn't there, including Tai. She didn't care. She only wanted to spend more time with Arc soon, after the male cat was done doing whatever he was up to.

Somehow, the image of the archeologist completely bare from the waist up, revealing his arms to her, was the most attractive image she had ever seen, though if he would have been bare from the waist down as well it would have been nice too. Then he had embraced her and she could feel his strong arms encircling around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. It felt like ours as the two hugged right before she whispered in his ear "I love you!" and kissed him on the side of his head.

Why did she say that? Sure, she felt that way about him but she couldn't explain why she would confess something so personal, especially since they had just become a couple not long ago. She turned in her bed as she tried to drive her thoughts to more pleasant matters like: Arc flexing his bare arms for her the other day. She blushed at the thought.

"A little bit overdressed, don't you think?" _Or underdressed._ Jagter thought as soon as he saw the short length of the dress.

His sister was wearing a short, sleeveless purple dress that hung in its place thanks to a wooden ring, located in the center of her chest above her breasts, the fabric that covered them had a pair of straps made of the same cloth and tied itself around the circular rustic structure and another strap around the back of her neck and tied itself to the top of the timber circle. Around her waist was a loosely placed belt made of gold hoops that linked together by small golden studs, she sported sandals that tied around her legs, almost up to her knees, and around her wrist she wore the bracelet made of diamonds her beloved lion had presented to his sweetheart some time ago.

How he wished his sister covered herself more properly around boys, especially one that was infatuated with her. At least this dress covered her lady parts, unlike Arc who exposes his boy parts all the time. He feared that Naki would grow as shameless as her boyfriend.

Nakira, on the other hand, was thrilled about her special someone, "I just want to see his face when he sees me all dolled up!" She notices her brother's scowl, "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I'm doing."

He sighed and inhaled, preparing himself for what he was going to say because this truly was something that could affect her greatly, "Naki, I have to tell you something and I don't think you will like it."

She crossed her arms and returned a scowl of her own, "Is it about Arc?"

"Yes."

Her stare hardened a bit, "Whether I date him or not is none of your concern, Jagter. Arc and I have something very special going on and I am not going to let you ruin that just because you believe him unfit of being my boyfriend."

"He left."

A few seconds of silence before it dawned on her.

"What?" the words quivered in disbelief as they left her mouth.

Jagter closed his eyes and sighed, "He left with Tai on a trip this morning. It says so in this note I found in his room."

He handed the piece of paper to his sister and she slumped on her bed as she read the other male lion's message. Once confirmed that her special someone was indeed gone, out on an adventure with his little friend, she simply stared at the floor as if searching for more answers.

Seeing his younger sibling like that made him wish he could do some serious damage to Arc but could only offer a sincere apologetic look, "Naki, I'm sorry this happened to you but you have to admit that Arc is not exactly a stable person, he doesn't stay in a place for long since he's always traveling. This is exactly what your relationship with him would and will be if the two of you continued being together." He paused and walked by the room's window to breath in the fresh air from the sunny day outside. He inhaled once more to continue speaking as he began to turn around and face his sister, "I know it hurts but…" She was no sign of her in the room. "Naki?"

He noticed that the flower print rucksack, which she kept by the side of her bed, was also missing. That could only mean one thing.

Jagter ran out to the hallway and was able to spot his sister's silhouette as she exited the barracks. Naki was still trying to make pieces of clothing fit in her rucksack by the entrance steps.

"You can't be serious! You're really going to chase after Arc?"

"Yeah; yesterday he seemed interested in copping a feel." She responded with no sign of shame anywhere.

Jagter on the other hand, was aghast by what she just said as his jaw fell open. "When did you become such a hussy?"

She straightened herself, scowled at him and positioned her arms akimbo. "I'm telling mom you called me that!"

"Mother and father will be here any day now and you are just leaving without them knowing about it for some guy!" He reasoned.

"Mom always said to follow your heart."

"Yes, but…" He stopped himself before speaking any further after realizing what Naki meant. After all, it was something he believes in too.

"If it weren't for that belief, she and dad would have never been married. Remember?" She pressed on, though, not forcefully.

He remembered very well the tale of how his parents met and how they fell in love. He sighed in defeat, "Fine, we'll go after Arc but you will have to stay as close to me as possible. No alone time with Arc whatsoever, unless I'm seating between the two of you. Understand?"

She rolled her eyes as she displayed a bemused smile, "Whatever you say, big brother!"

He lifted a finger, "And another thing: if I see that you can't handle this journey, we will turn around and come back." He added and almost forgot another important detail concerning his parents, "We'll also need to find a way to inform mother and father once they arrive about our whereabouts."

Naki handed her rucksack to Jagter and entered the barracks, "Leave that to me." She said as she searched for a piece of paper and follow Arc's example. Hopefully, her parents won't be too mad.

The male lion waiting for his sister only felt dumb for letting her give him the backpack because now that he was holding, Naki will expect him to carry it for her all the time.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Mantis couldn't stop snickering at his avian friend. The insect had recalled the story that a certain raccoon reporter had unveiled to them about Crane's time as a rookie kung fu practitioner. "Again? Why did you bang a watermelon?" He insisted wanting more details and answers.

Crane grumbled loudly as he tried his best to keep his composure, especially the redness from his face. "It was when I was in the Li Dai Academy and a few of the cool guys wanted me to be one of them and I had to pass a series of tests!"

"And poking a hole in a watermelon, heating it and then boning it was one of those tests?" Po asked, feeling a bit intrigued by the anecdote, even if he too was red-faced.

"Yeah." Crane answered. His voice was flat and his gaze was on the ground.

"Did you become one of the cool guys, at least?" Monkey asked. Not even he could resist finding out more about this embarrassing secret the avian had kept to himself.

Again, Crane sighed loudly, "No, they were just picking on me."

"That sucks." Viper added feeling the bird's embarrassment.

Po and the four members of the Furious Five made their way to Hall of Warriors after an entire training session in the training hall without their master supervising them or keeping a watchful eye on their performances. Surely, something must be going on, something important, to keep him away from teaching.

"He did mention something last night about meditating with that Gongju kid in the morning. Maybe he forgot about time and is still there." Mantis added.

"Hardly, he is never tardy for the morning gong ever since he became a student." Crane replied with confirmation.

Despite wanting to know why their master hadn't been with them the whole morning, there was something else that was bothering them and wanted to find out as soon as possible.

They reached the entrance of the Hall of Warriors. It looked like it always does: clean and spiffy, everything in place, the sense of grandeur everywhere, an unconscious Shifu on the floor and of course…

"Master!" The five students cried out at the same time, alerted and startled.

"Master, are you alright?" Po said as he took the old man's head into his palm.

Master Shifu opened his eyes and groaned a bit, "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was just resting."

No one believed that lie but nevertheless they didn't stop being worried.

Mantis inspected the old man for any sign of injuries and boy was he surprised to find so many bruises in various places.

"What happened to you, Master? You look like someone smashed you repeatedly against concrete!"

"That's…" the pain was unbearable, "that's not important. Just let me rest." He closed his eyes for a few seconds as his students still lingered there, staring at him. He then opened his eyes once again and held a finger, "But take me to my bed first. It is probably better for my back."

The giant panda carefully lifted the small man and the rest of his fellow students followed after him. Po looked down on his injured teacher and wondered who could have done this to his master, the best kung fu teacher in all of China, but then he remembered the other thing that was on everyone's mind during their training session, "Uh, Master, we were wondering if you knew where Tigress is; we haven't seen her since last night."

* * *

"Just a little bit further." Arc said as he pressed his ear against a wall as everyone else stood around, waiting for him to move again, in order to follow him down the stairs.

Ralix, holding an oil lantern, the only source of light they had, stayed closed to the lion so as to provide him with the necessary illumination the feline needed. "Ya sure about this? Ya do know what the penalty is for tunneling through any wall of Dynophyta's Pillar, right?"

"Yes!" The lion responded with multiple nods and then proceeded to tap the wall of rock, which lead to him descending more into the depths of the stairwell that connected the farmhouse's basement to the temple of Terkhonazya.

Gongju, Tai Lung, Wen, Penpa, Ralix and Alvar were tailing the archeologist, some patiently while others were starting to get annoyed by the slow pace, especially since they've been waiting for any particular sign from Arc for two hours ago and the feline was still examining the walls. The lion had even begun this important procedure of his by descending the steps until they were halfway down the whole flight of stairs, of course, the lion made them all run to shorten the time it would normally take but now most of them were tired, even Gongju who had to do an extra effort to keep himself from strolling down the stairs and stopping his chair from moving forward with his bare hands.

Tai Lung remembered very well how long it took him and Arc to go up these stairs, about two hours without breaks, and he was beginning to wonder if there could be a faster way to go up and down this stairwell. The Workshop most notably, Gongju, are able to build machines and contraptions at a fast pace, maybe they could build a contraption so as to avoid having to use the stairs. _Po would be delighted to know about such a machine!_

Onto more important matters, Arc had begun to place his outstretched palms on the walls, sometimes sinking his claws in, and knocking on it, feeling vibrations from it, as the group descended until the lion stopped in one specific spot and asked for the machine from earlier. Everyone seemed relieved to know that this claustrophobia inducing experience would soon be over.

As it turned out, the contraption was a drill and Arc took it upon himself to use it so as to not damage more than was necessary, and coming from the lion that truly threw everyone for a loop.

"This could take hours or days." Tai Lung complained and crossed his arms.

Then the panther stepped in shoving Arc out of the way, "We don't need that drill; I can punch my way through that wall!" He then began to punch the rock wall to no effect whatsoever. He stopped once he grew exhausted and his knuckled hurt and looked at everyone with a confused expression, "I don't get it; when Tigress threw me I was able to break walls!"

The four year old snow leopard grumbled at the panther's stupidity. "There must be a faster way to reach the other side."

The lion, still examining the contraption, answered him, "There is, I'm just drilling a hole for the next step!"

"What next step?" Tai Lung asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Whatever Arc was planning to do next could result in someone being injured. Thankfully, the other snow leopard was aware of this second phase and informed him about it.

"We're going to melt an entrance to the civilization in the Dynophyta's Pillar and thanks to my geographical knowledge I'll know where we'll be once we get through!"

"Wait, how _are_ you going to melt a tunnel?" This came from Wen. Not even she knew of this step in the plan.

Gongju answered everyone's doubts, "Arc had informed me about the walls of this very temple, they contain high levels of _Indium_, and asked me if I could find a better way to open an entrance than by blowing this place up."

_What's Indium? And did Arc know about that little fun fact since the first time he and I went up these stairs? Well, he is an archeologist. It shouldn't really surprise me if he found that out just by examining the walls when we first went through here._ Tai Lung drove all of those questions aside and asked the most important matter at the moment, "How are the walls going to be melted, again?"

Again, Gongju was more than happy to ease everyone's doubts, "Arc asked me to build the drill with an additional purpose other than making a hole; it also shoots the borer, like a firework, in a powerful straight line to shorten the process. You see, once there is an open point from here to the other side, then it will be the right moment to make the chemical reaction happen." He paused and noticed that there were still faces with concern in them, "Don't worry, the most crucial parts can only be done by me. I'm the only who knows how to operate it."

Tai Lung looked impressed and nodded at the other snow leopard, "Ah, you made it Arc-proof!" _He really does think ahead of time!_

"Mhm!" Gongju responded as he nodded in complete smugness with his fists placed on his hips.

Arc then leaned down, so as to be at the same height level with his crippled friend, "The drill is in position. So yeah, it's ready to shoot." He then raised his palm and wiggled his fingers, "If my tactile senses are correct, civilization is beyond this wall." He finished by pointing at where he had been perforating small holes earlier, "Now, how the drill thing does the shooting thing?"

Gongju turned his chair around and appointed the lion to do as instructed, "First, spin the crank until it cannot go any further. When the drill stops, just repeat the process." The archeologist happily did as instructed and witnessed the drill in action, almost poking his eye out, but nevertheless began to practice using it. Gongju, on the other hand, opened the large carrying bag that Alvar had placed on the ground and looked inside, searching around the hollow bag full of necessities, "Now where did I left…"

Tai Lung turned to the silver vixen, "What is he looking for?"

"The tools he need to carry out the second phase." Penpal answered. The cougar was sitting crossed legged wiping a piece of cloth against his flute, making sure that it never loses its keen shine.

He then turned to look at Gongju again and was startled to see that the other snow leopard had made an open fire, where he placed a pan and was pouring more water into it as it already was hot and bubbling.

"You really do work fast!" Tai Lung said. His eyes were wide with astonishment. _How did he make the water boil so fast?_

Gongju returned a modest face, "Thank you!"

Clearly, he was proud of his fast pace when it came to work.

Tai Lung then looked at Arc who was drilling a small hole to what little potency the wind up of the crank gave it. He then raised a brow in confusion and turned once more to Gongju, "Again, since that machine can shoot a straight hole all the way to the other side, why is Arc drilling a hole manually?"

"If he's content and distracted there's no way he can mess anything up, now can he?"

Tai Lung truly was impressed, nodding to the boy's brilliance, "Makes perfect sense to me!"

Then the older snow leopard took hold of the pan's handle and strolled to where Arc was standing, holding the machine in position. Such a determined person, is he not? However, Gongju couldn't reach the machine because of it.

"Alvar, could you please lift me up?" Gongju said over his shoulder.

However, it was Xovius who answered, "Alvar said he had to take a piss but I'll do it."

"See, he came in handy!" Ralix proudly exclaimed while Wen simply rolled her eyes.

The panther grabbed the boy by the sides of his torso and elevated him. Once high enough to reach, Gongju began to wiggle a hinge on the side of the machine which opened the top of the cube like a lid and pulled out a rubber tube with a small funnel at the end. He ordered the panther to carefully empty the pan of boiling water into the conical structure. Xovius did so and once every drop had gone down the conduit the snow leopard placed the funnel back inside of the box and closed it.

"There, that should do it." Gongju informed ignoring the wailing curses from the panther after touching the burning hot pan with his bare fingers.

With that said, the lion began to spin the key. The sound of bolts being cranked echoed in the stairwell and resonated. There was no doubt that it could be heard even in the inner depths.

"I recommend everyone to back away and shield yourselves, just in case." Said the snow leopard in the wheelchair.

The panther simply took his metallic hat and placed in front of his face, while everyone else, except Arc, hid behind him for protection.

Wen turned to her brother, who was hiding behind Alvar's leg, "You were right, Ral, he did come in useful!"

Arc was still in position with the machine ready to carry out its purpose, "How do I make it shoot?"

Gongju peeked his head out of the safety of the panther backside and informed the lion, "Spin the key till it can no more, make sure your feet are firmly planted and, this is it, remove the key from its socket."

Alvar did as the snow leopard said, spread his toes apart and planted them strongly on the steps he stood, and when the key wouldn't spin anymore the archeologist took a big breath to ready himself, "Alright, here we go!"

* * *

Both siblings were standing right in front of the door that led to The Underground. Naki was still determined to find Arc and she knew he must have taken this route, after all, this is the path he took to get to the Valley of peace months ago and it was the very same she took when her mother brought her and Jagter to the valley.

Going through an abandoned temple was a new experience for her but she didn't realize that they would have to walk up a long spiral staircase that was miles long and that truly was exhausting but, in the end, she would be with Arc once she reached the surface. Her excitement kept her from collapsing from exhaustion and it numbed the pain in her legs away.

Now, in the present, she was still just as determined to be with Arc and she would go up those stairs again if she had to, fortunately, this time she had to go down them.

She knew this was the fastest way to reach The Underground so of course, Arc should still be somewhere going down these stairs.

"Naki, are you still sure about this?" Her brother asked, clearly wanting his sister to give up in this wild goose chase.

The female lion lit a candle stepped forward, determination blazing in her gaze, "Yes, now come on. We can still catch up to them."

Just as soon as the lioness opened the door, they were both startled by the sound of an explosion echo loudly all the way to the top of the stairwell.

Jagter stared at the endless darkness inside the tunnel up ahead and then stared at his sister, "Something tells me that Arc did that. I just know it."

* * *

A/N: Took me a while but I finished this difficult chapter and I still hope all of you are eager to keep on reading my story. Just so all of you are aware, Indium is an element that can be found in the Periodic Table. What made this chapter so hard to write, I must say is trying to make sense out of everything I come up with, which is hard since I'm an overly imaginative person. Do you think Arc was a bit harsh on Shifu? Or was he simply long awaited karma being delivered?

Next chapter I want to focus on characters I haven't given much time. So until next time.

Please, read and review! Any suggestions and feedback would be appreciated!


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